Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Four of five men suspected in an attempted “smash-and-grab” robbery of an Upland jewelry store Thursday, Dec. 30, have been arrested, authorities said.
The men arrived mid-afternoon at Uptown Jewelry Mart on South Mountain Avenue, the Upland Police Department reported. Four men entered the shop with their faces covered, while the driver stayed in the car, police said.
The men deployed a large canister of bear spray on people inside the store, but a business owner thwarted the crime with a legally owned firearm, police said. The men ran to the car and drove away.
No one inside the business was seriously injured.
In smash-and-grab robberies, organized groups swarm businesses, break glass counter tops and quickly leave with merchandise. Detectives used surveillance video inside the store to help identify the men, Upland Police Lt. Anthony Kabayan said.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department believes that some of them were involved in smash-and-grab robberies of jewelry stores in Claremont and Chino Hills in the past few weeks, Kabayan said.
Most of the men involved in the Upland robbery were associated with a gang, according to police.
Police found one suspect and what they believe is the get-away vehicle in Upland. Meanwhile, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies apprehended three other men in Ontario.
Police were searching Saturday for the fifth man.