A jewelry store named 'Heist Jewelry' in Santa Monica lived up to its name Friday afternoon after some thieves attempted to pull off a jewelry heist.
Police say the incident began around 2:35 p.m. when one of the suspects entered the jewelry store with his face covered and used a sledgehammer to smash open one of the display cases. The owner, who was conducting inventory at the time, intervened and pushed the suspect out of the store, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. A second suspect, who was also carrying a hammer, came up to the owner and attempted to hit him with the sledgehammer. At one point during the struggle, the owner of the store managed to take off the suspect's sweater, who then tried concealing his face.
The store's manager told CBSLA, the thieves didn't even get what they came for.
"They took nothing," the store’s manager said. "They didn’t get anything. We heisted them, they didn’t heist us."
The two suspects fled the scene in a waiting vehicle, police said.
A witness to the incident managed to provide a description of the suspect's vehicle, and police caught up with the vehicle and took three people into custody.
Police caught up with a fourth suspect, who missed the getaway car at the initial crime scene.
Three of the four suspects were identified as juveniles and were all booked for robbery and assault. The adult suspect was booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a crime, assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.
Police have not identified the suspects.