A man with a hammer smashed a glass case at a La Mesa jewelry store and made off with more than $7,000 in watches Friday morning, police said.
But moments later, La Mesa police stopped the suspected getaway car, arrested the driver and recovered the watches, the department said in a news release.
The incident started about 10:50 a.m. when a man walked into a jewelry store at Grossmont Shopping Center, pulled a hammer from his waistband and shattered the glass front of the display case.
The man reached inside the damaged case and snatched several pricey watches. An employee ran to the back of the store. A witness called 911.
The thief dropped the hammer and fled, police said. A photo provided by police shows the long thin hammer on the floor in front of the smashed case.
Mall security officers helped police quickly look at surveillance video of the man running from the store. That, combined with witness statements, allowed police to broadcast to officers a description of the man and the car — a gold sedan without license plates.
Moments later, Officer Bill Wilson spotted the suspect driving the car on the west side of the shopping center, on Center Drive headed toward Jackson Drive, authorities said. Police headed to the area and stopped the suspected car on Fletcher Parkway, roughly a mile west of the mall. They arrested the 31-year-old driver.
The stolen watches were returned to the store.
