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MERCED, Calif. -- Cell phone video shows about a dozen people inside a mall jewelry store in Central California busting glass display cases and stealing merchandise.

"There was jewelry flying everywhere and glass flying everywhere," said Graciela Pena.

Merced Police say they were called to the Merced Mall just before 1 p.m. Tuesday for a disturbance involving a group of 10 to 15 male juveniles and adults.

Video shows thieves shatter jewelry store glass displays at mall in Central California
By Jessica Harrington
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 9:33PM
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Cell phone video shows about a dozen people inside a mall jewelry store in Central California busting glass display cases and stealing merchandise.
MERCED, Calif. -- Cell phone video shows about a dozen people inside a mall jewelry store in Central California busting glass display cases and stealing merchandise.

"There was jewelry flying everywhere and glass flying everywhere," said Graciela Pena.

RELATED: CHP recovers $185,000 worth of stolen merchandise, including items from Louis Vuitton in SF

Merced Police say they were called to the Merced Mall just before 1 p.m. Tuesday for a disturbance involving a group of 10 to 15 male juveniles and adults.

Investigators learned the group showed up to the mall with masks and hammers, smashed the jewelry cases at Prestigio Jewelers, stole items and then took off.

Employees at the Baskin Robbins near the entrance saw the suspects come and go.

"They were running out, you could see the hammers in their hands when they were running out," said Baskin Robbins employee Patricia Bibee.

Merced Police are still trying to determine the total value of the jewelry that was stolen.

Officials say this an unusual event for this community.

"We typically see these types of incidents in the Bay Area and other cities that are maybe not prosecuting these types of cases. We don't typically see that here in Merced," said Merced Police Lt. Emily Foster.

Investigators say they've obtained surveillance video and cell phone video and are now searching for the group involved.

One of the witnesses says it's sad these crimes are happening in Merced.

"It just feels like this is just more common everyday. Like, it didn't even surprise me that it was happening and that's the sad reality, that it didn't even surprise me," Pena said.

No one was injured during the incident. Anyone with information or other cell phone video is asked to call Merced Police at 209-385-6905.

A sheriff in middle Georgia is alive and expected to return to work after being shot in the chest.

Police say bodycam video shows a Snellville man fired the gun.

The incident happened over the weekend in Jones County.

Jones County Deputy John Kile pulled Lucas Olivara over because the Gwinnett County man was going too slow along the country road.

Out of nowhere, Olivara pulled a gun.

“What do you have in there?” bodycam video shows Kile asking Olivara.

“I have nothing. This is my home,” Olivara said.

That’s when Olivara started shooting. The bullet struck Kile in his vest. He was stunned but unharmed.

He then hopped in his patrol car and took off after Olivara.

Kile tried to do a pit maneuver to stop Olivara.

A few miles later, another deputy spun Olivara out. Bodycam video shows Olivara rolling down his window and shooting the gun again.

Only after Olivara was in handcuffs did the deputy look at his chest.

“You can see it didn’t come through. That’s just the impact and the friction,” Kile said on the bodycam video, showing where he was hit.

“So often we see what bad police do. Deputy Kile was doing his job and you can see the consequences of what happened to him,” Jones County Sheriff Butch Reese told Channel 2′s Tony Thomas. “Thank goodness for the vest. He was a blessed man. God looked after him.”

Olivara was taken to a mental hospital for evaluation. His family told Thomas on Monday that he is bipolar.

A man is recovering after being run over by an alleged drunken driver who hit him and three vehicles in a Ponce de Leon Avenue parking lot earlier this month.

The victim, Jeffrey Whitmire, and several other people told Atlanta police that an unknown man was drunk inside a restaurant at 736 Ponce de Leon Ave. asking for someone to call an ambulance before going outside and getting in his car Jan. 7, according to an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Witnesses said they tried to stop the driver because he appeared to be too inebriated to drive.

Surveillance video posted to YouTube shows the driver in a dark gray Jeep Grand Cherokee backing into a parked pickup truck before pulling forward and hitting a white SUV.

Whitmire, who drove the white SUV, ran toward the erratic driver with his arms raised and yelled at him, Whitmire wrote on his GoFundMe page. Both paused for a moment after the SUV was struck. Then, the driver quickly drove toward Whitmire and ran over him.

Whitmire’s body was completely under the vehicle right next to its left-side tires.

The driver stopped, as there was nowhere to turn, which allowed just enough time for Whitmire to roll out from behind the vehicle before the driver started to reverse. Whitmire wrote on GoFundMe that “adrenaline allowed me to roll out the way.”

Whitmire had injuries to his left shoulder, right knee and a hematoma to the back of the head and was taken to the hospital, according to the police incident report.

The driver then struck a third vehicle twice before eventually exiting the parking lot over what appeared to be large stairs.

“I am mobile, however, my leg received an injury that doesn’t allow me to work until fully healed, which is undetermined at this time given the type of work I do,” Whitmire said about his injuries.

A witness told police the driver left a credit card in the restaurant, according to the incident report. The witness said the driver was last seen heading eastbound on Ponce de Leon.