A would-be smash-and-grab suspect who got more than he bargained for when he attempted to rob a family-owned jewelry store in the San Gabriel Valley last week, has been identified, authorities announced on Thursday.
Surveillance cameras captured the suspect, now identified as 36-year-old Joshua Lee Simmons, as he was walking down Main Street in El Monte on Sept. 2 dressed in all black with a face mask and a cardboard box in hand.
As the 36-year-old approaches Meza’s Jewelry store, he’s seen spraying bear repellent in the face of a 70-year-old man, one of the store’s owners, who was sitting just outside the shop.
That didn’t stop the 70-year-old from running inside his family’s jewelry store to fight back, his brother, niece and nephews all coming to his defense, struggling to restrain the intruder as he smashed the display case and attempted to grab whatever precious merchandise he could get his hands on.
Another co-owner of Meza’s can be seen in the video hitting Simmons with a stick, forcing him to run out of the store empty handed, shirtless and pulling up his pants while several other employees chased him down the sidewalk.
Officers with the El Monte Police Department responded to the scene on reports of a “robbery in progress,” according to a department news release. Authorities said the suspect had already fled the scene, getting away in a gray Dodge Charger with California license plate #8MVU075, when officers arrived.
Simmons is described as an African-American male, standing approximately 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 300 pounds.
Anyone with information about the attempted smash-and-grab or Simmons’ whereabouts is encouraged to call the El Monte Police Department at 626-580-2100.