Two clumsy crooks were caught on camera trying to break into a California jewelry store with a sledgehammer, but failed miserably when the strength of the glass exceeded the strength of the hammer.
The two hapless burglars, dressed all in black, approached Devon’s Jewelry store in Lincoln Village, San Joaquin County, around noon Tuesday and attempted to smash an outdoor display case filled with Rolex watches. According to KCRA3 in Sacramento.
But their plan was a complete failure when the glass failed to break despite repeated banging, according to a video recorded by a bystander.
The would-be robbers held the hammers in an awkward motion that suggested they were unfamiliar with how to use them, and they appeared to be exhausted as they were unable to break the glass.
One of Devon’s employees escaped through a back door and ran into Nectar Juice Bar next door, where he told owner Mark Salare that the store was being robbed.
“She was very upset,” Salare said. “I looked outside and told everyone to stay inside and closed the door to make sure everyone was safe, and the men ran away.”
Meanwhile, employees from the jewelry store rushed to the scene, grabbed the watch and carried it off, Andres Lopez of the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office told the station.
“When the suspect saw this, he stopped breaking the window and fled in his vehicle,” Lopez said.
The disheartened robbers walked to their getaway car, a black four-door sedan, and drove off.
“It’s not unusual,” Lopez said. According to ABC 10. “These incidents happen all the time, day or night, and they’re commonplace. They’re robberies. They break into cars or buildings, get in quickly, take what they can and then leave.”
No one was injured in the incident, but the jewelry store reportedly suffered thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Lopez added that while the video will help police find the perpetrator, he doesn’t recommend pulling out your phone every time a crime occurs.
“I would never recommend taking out your phone and recording or contacting these people because then they might turn their attention to you as well,” he said.
In a statement to the ABC, Devons said: “Our staff responded swiftly to secure our stores and we are very pleased that all our staff and customers are safe.”
But the attack has shaken neighbours like Salare.
“I was just shocked. It was pretty brazen to do something like that in broad daylight,” he said. “It’s just infuriating that he would put everyone at risk like that… It’s just sad that he would do something like that.”
