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A group of masked, hammer-carrying suspects smashed into Manhattan Beach’s Prestige Jewelers for the second time in a decade over the weekend.
But this time, the thieves didn’t have time to pilfer an estimated $250,000 of Rolex watches and diamonds. This time, they got far less because of an employee.
On Saturday, five hoodie-wearing thieves smashed up the store’s jewelry showcases, according to Manhattan Beach Police. The worker pulled out a gun and fired on the suspects, eventually chasing them from the store, police confirmed.
In the previous robbery, two men were arrested after rampaging through display cases and jewelry boxes during a Sunday afternoon robbery in August 2014 that lasted less than a minute.
The only deterrence the men ran into that day was the screams of the store’s manager, which caught the attention of several nearby shoppers. She, along with others, called 911.