Police release surveillance video of violent south Charlotte jewelry store heist

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Surveillance video shows how a thief used pepper spray and his fists to beat down the owners of a south Charlotte jewelry store before robbing them.

Police hope the release of the video will lead to the arrest of the man who robbed the store and attacked the two men.

While the assault and robbery happened, the man’s elderly mother sat helplessly in the same room and was forced to watch the two men be beaten.

Mario Makar was wearing an orange shirt the day of the robbery, but within minutes of the start of the surveillance video it would be splattered with his own blood.

“He just started punching in my face over and over. I thought he was going to kill me,” he said.

The surveillance video adds merit to Makar’s words. A man wearing a construction vest walked into A. Bonnart Jewelers on Providence Road and told the owners he had come to spray for bugs. Instead, he started firing pepper spray into the eyes of one of the owners.

The first shot went into the eyes of 78-year-old Steve Makar. Then he turned the pepper spray on Mario.

As Steve Makar ran out the back door of the store, Mario Makar can be seen desperately trying to fight back, but he was overmatched and oversized by the thief who slammed him into a door.

The suspect then moved to a display case and started removing jewelry. He even shoved the disoriented jeweler out of the showroom.

At one point in the video, Makar can be seen pulling out a gun, but instead of backing away from the armed man, the suspect charged at Makar and took the gun away from him.

The suspect walked past Makar’s elderly mother as if she was not there and tossed the gun on the floor next to her.

“He’s a coward,” Makar said.

With no one left in his way, the thief slid the jewelry off the counter into a bag he brought into the store. He lifted another display case and slammed it to the ground and stole a few more items before walking out of the store.

The Makars said the man got away with several high-dollar Rolex watches and other expensive jewelry. That Makars are offering a piece of jewelry to anyone who has information that leads to an arrest.

WSOC