Several suspected thieves were caught on camera Monday trying to rob a consignment store in Pleasant Hill.
The attempted robbery happened at Estates Consignments on Contra Costa Boulevard.
The owner said about 10 men, some carrying sledge hammers, forced their way into the store.
When a staff member pulled out a gun, the thieves took off and jumped into two cars.
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“I told them to ‘watch it’ and they saw my gun and ran away luckily,” said Albert Marcu of Estates Consignments. “I didn’t have to shoot anybody, I didn’t want to shoot anybody anyway but too many crimes happened around us.”
Marcu said police arrived in 30 seconds and followed the two cars, but the would-be robbers got away.
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“We have firearms and my staff carry their own firearms for at least two or three years when all this nonsense started,” he said, talking about organized retail theft and smash-and-grab crimes.
Just five days earlier, thieves stormed into a consignment store 15 minutes south in Danville.
In that case, a group of thieves made off with jewelry.
Police won't say if the two are connected yet, but say it's an ongoing investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
“Looking at what happened in the Bay Area here, I was kind of prepared and just waiting that one day they would be here too,” said Marcu.
He has been in jewelry for more than 40 years and said that lately, many of his customers have complained about the crime trends they are seeing.
He’s fed up with it too.
“The police catch them and the DA let them loose. It’s terrifying living in California,” said Marcu.
He said that if the robbers or someone else tries the same thing again, he’ll be ready.
“Just don’t try again because there could be fatalities and I don’t want nobody to die,” he said.
