A Huntington Beach, California smash-and-grab crew attempting to rob a mom-and-pop jewelry store on Sunday were repelled in a flurry of punches and kicks from the owners’ children and shop employees, who were recorded on security footage driving the marauders out of the store empty-handed.
The wild video begins with a man dressed in a black hoodie and mask entering the Princess Bride Diamonds jewelry store in the Bella Terra shopping mall.
The crook instantly smashed the front display case with a hammer. Three other bandits charged in behind him carrying backpacks that they presumably hoped to fill with ill-gotten jewels.
Huntington Beach, a quaint surf town in Orange County 35 miles south of Los Angeles, has not been immune to the trickle-down effect from the big city’s crime spree.
Robberies in Los Angeles have spiked nearly 20% from a similar period last year.
Trans and Lisa Baca started Princess Bride Diamonds in 1984 with an emphasis on custom designed engagement rings that fit within their clients budget.
Their son, Dallas Baca, who was working when the thieves attacked. He said that he saw their reflection out of the corner of his eye as they stormed the store.
Baca dashed out from the backroom, the video shows, and landed a punch to the face of one of the robbers, doubling the thief over and knocking him off his feet.
Counterwoman Lily Ochoa came out from around the shattered display case and shoved another the bandits before repeatedly kicking the downed thug in the gut.
Trans and Lisa Baca started Princess Bride Diamonds in 1984 with the emphasis on custom-made engagement rings
Dallas Baca, left, and Sarah Baca, right, fought of four masked bandits with hammers who tried to smash and grab jewels from their parents’ Huntington Beach jeweler, Princess Bride Diamonds
Princess Bride Diamond employees, including the store owners’ children, fought off a smash-and-grab crew on Sunday
The bandits entered the shop with hammers and backpacks, hoping to fill their bags with stolen jewels
The owners’ children, Dallas and Sarah Baca, fought off the bandits, sending them fleeing after a series of punches and kicks
Lily Ochoa can been seen repeatedly kicking one of the robbers after he was punched to the ground
The two store employees then ganged up on another of the robbers landing blows to his face and body and sending him fleeing from the store.
Sister Sarah Baca then run out from the back of the store with a chair and smashed it down on the back of another robber who tried try to re-enter.
‘I was just looking for something big and heavy to like hit them with and the stool was just right there, so I just ran up grabbed the stool and hit the guy over the head with the stool as hard as I could,’ she told NBC News.
One of the masked marauder hit Sarah Baca in the head with a hammer, but she was barely fazed.
‘At some point while I was fighting them, one of them actually hit me in the head with a hammer, on the side of my left temple, but I didn’t even register it until after they left because there was so much like adrenaline going on,’ Sara Baca told KTLA.
The brother and sister finally send the crew out of the store and lock the doors behind them.
‘I didn’t think too much going into it, I just kind of reacted to it,’ Dallas Baca told NBC news. ‘I feel like you never think it’s gonna happen to you but you always know it’s a possibility, in the back of your mind.’
Customers applauded the workers tenacity in fighting off the robbers.
‘It’s cool to see them fight back. That was awesome!’ David Clark told CBS News Los Angeles. He who bought his engagement ring for his his fiancée Audrey Tate at the store.
‘We live across the way and David got our engagement ring from here so we care a lot about the staff,’ Tate said. ‘We’re just sad to see what happened.’
The Huntington Police Department said that no one was badly injured in the melee and they are investigating the attempted robbery. No arrests have been reported.
The shooting happened about 3:15pm on the sand, just south of the Huntington Beach Pier and near the pathway
A Surf dog grabs his surfboard as dogs and owners make their way out to catch waves at the annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach
Last September, police shot and killed an armed man at pointblank range after he refused to drop his weapon during the U.S. Open of Surfing competition.
The LAPD have identified 17 separate ‘follow-home’ crews who are targeting wealthy shopping areas and enclaves for violent carjackings and watch thefts.
There have been 221 such muggings since last November when police created an 18-person task force to address the phenomenon.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has taken a different approach to crime from LA’s ‘woke’ DA George Gascon.
His re-election slogan has been ‘No LA in OC.’