A masked man armed with a handgun robbed a Freedom Boulevard jewelry store just before noon Thursday but left without taking the would-be stolen loot, Watsonville police reported.
A robbery alarm was triggered at Ideal Jewelry around 11:26 a.m., followed soon after with a 9-1-1 call, according to police.
The masked man attempting to rob the store fled in an older model maroon Chevy Suburban, police said. He was alone.
Police said the vehicle was last seen near Arthur and Crescent drives. An officer found the vehicle on the 200 block of Shasta Street and determined the robber walked away from the vehicle toward Alta Visa Drive.
Police and a canine searched the area but didn't find the robber.
The Suburban had been stolen weeks before, according to a California Highway Patrol report.
Ideal Jewelry has been the target of robberies in the past. The shop was held up by two women and a man in January 2012. In August 2011, a man robbed the store.
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