Police arrested a suspect in a frightening robbery at a jewelry store in Frederick, Md., thanks to the sharp eye and fast actions of a witness.
The security camera video from Colonial Jewelers on Market Street in downtown Frederick shows three men -- one armed with a handgun -- entering the store Tuesday afternoon, ordering everyone down on the floor, smashing a display case and grabbing handfuls of jewelry. Then they sprayed employees and customers with pepper spray, police said.
A passing motorist saw what was happening through the window and quickly flagged down a police officer.
“The detective, who was in the passenger’s seat, got out of the passenger’s seat, had to run against traffic, went down to the jewelry store just as our robbers were leaving the jewelry store,” Frederick police Lt. Clark Pennington said. “The detective gave chase into an alleyway, where the suspects entered a black pickup truck. That black pickup truck then came at the detective, who had to get out of the way. He was able to get the tag number.”
Detectives worked through the night and arrested 31-year-old Alonzo Lee Meadows in the District early Wednesday morning. They are looking for the other two men.
Police in Arlington, Va., are looking into the possibility that the crime is connected to a similar smash-and-grab at the Zales Jewelry store in Pentagon City Mall Monday.
Colonial Jewelers, which has been in business for 65 years and is considered a landmark in the Frederick community, was still trying to air out the pepper spray Wednesday.
