Legally armed citizen thwarts California smash-and-grab attempted robbery
UPLAND, Calif. - A legally armed Southern California jewelry store owner thwarted an attempted smash-and-grab robbery by four men.
Four suspects entered a jewelry store in Upland last Thursday just after 2:30 p.m. and deployed bear spray on everyone inside, police said. After the owner brandished a legally possessed firearm, the suspects took off in a getaway vehicle waiting outside. No one in the business was seriously injured.
Two of four suspects in an attempted smash-and-grab robbery of a California jewelry store, Dalon La Flora and Jonathan Williamson (Upland Police Department)
While working to identify and apprehend the suspects, investigators were contacted by detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department - Chino Hills Station, who said they had reason to believe these suspects were also responsible for other recent violent robberies in Claremont and Chino Hills. Upland PD also learned that most of the suspects involved in the robbery were associated with a local criminal street gang.
At the same time Upland police located the suspects' vehicle, SBSO deputies located multiple suspects in the city of Ontario that were allegedly involved in the aforementioned robberies, including three who were allegedly involved in the Upland attempted robbery. Upland police executed a search warrant at an apartment in Upland, where the fourth suspect was taken into custody.
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The suspects have been identified as Jonathan Williamson, 36, from Upland; Dalon La Flora, 29, a parolee from Los Angeles; Gerald Kay, 30, a parolee from Fontana; and Jahaad Crawford, 30, who is on federal probation and wanted for an outstanding warrant. The four were booked into the West Valley Detention Center on various felony charges.
"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," the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports.
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