Richmond Sears Employee Pepper-Sprayed In $25K Jewelry Heist
RICHMOND (CBS SF) -- Police in Richmond are attempting to find a man who pepper-sprayed a Sears employee and stole more than $25,000 in jewelry from the store, a police spokeswoman said Thursday.
A man entered the store in the Hilltop Mall around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and asked an employee behind a jewelry counter if he could look at some of the jewelry pieces.
The woman knelt down to pull out some of the jewelry and when she stood back up, the suspect pepper sprayed her in the face, according to Richmond police Sgt. Nicole Abetkov.
The suspect grabbed about 10 pieces of jewelry estimated to be worth between $25,000 and $50,000 and ran out of the store, she said.
The employee received medical treatment at the scene but did not require hospitalization.
Police said the suspect, who remains at large, is described as a black man between 35 and 40 years old with a medium build and graying hair. He was wearing dark clothing and carrying a blue reusable Walmart bag at the time of the robbery, Abetkov said.
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