Store Owner Shot During Jewelry Heist

A jewelry store owner trying to stop an armed robber was shot Wednesday night in the third armed robbery in the city since Friday, Watsonville police reported.

The jeweler's condition was not immediately known, said police Sgt. Tony Magdayao, who was at the scene.

The robbery happened about 6:25 p.m. at , at Freedom Boulevard and Martinelli Street, when an armed man came in and demanded cash and jewelry, Magdayao said.

The robber was dressed in all black, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and armed with a handgun, Magdayao said.

"They don't believe anything was taken," Magdayao said, though he tempered the statement to say a small amount of jewelry may have been snatched.

There were three employees — including the owner and his wife — in the shop at the time. The shop is located in a busy shopping center.

The store owner ran after the robber, chasing him around the back of the strip mall. Behind the building, the robber fired shots at the store owner, striking him at least once, according to Magdayao.

"We don't know what his status is," Magdayao said. "It's still pretty new."

Around 7:30 p.m., the front of the jewelry store was roped off with yellow police tape and several Watsonville police and Sheriff's Office cruisers were parked out front. A small knot of men stood outside the crime scene tape, watching as the police department's crime scene investigator processed the scene. The store owner's wife was still there, trying to assess if anything had been taken.

Magdayao said her husband had been taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

Tuesday evening, two robbers wearing bandanas over their faces hit the Metro PCS store in the same shopping center. The Wells Fargo on South Green Valley Road and Main Street was robbed by a lone gunman Friday.

No arrests have been made in those crimes.

Chavez Jewelry was also robbed Jan. 7 by four people.