A would-be thief’s plans for a jewellery heist had been thwarted Saturday night time when he was chased out of the Nebraska retailer at gunpoint by the proprietor — an on-his-toes US Army veteran.
“I typically carry a firearm on my waist, even after hours,” Garrett Peddicord told KETV.
“It’s just one of those things: keys, wallet, firearm.”
Peddicord was burning the midnight oil at the back of Sidrony Jewelers in Omaha when he seen a commotion on his surveillance screens.
The thrilling footage reveals the burglar — dressed head to toe in black — hurl a rock by way of the store’s window and crawl by way of the damaged glass, anticipating to be alone among the many gems.
That’s when Peddicord loudly stormed into the showroom together with his gun drawn, catching the thief standing over a case with a few of his most-valuable items inside.
Caught actually within the act, the jewel thief was “almost comically holding the tool over the glass,” Peddicord recalled — a hilarious second that was captured by his safety footage.
“Hey motherf–ker!” Peddicord shouted, drawing the person’s eyes towards the barrel of the gun, a sight scary sufficient to ship him scrambled again by way of the shattered window.
While proud that he was in a position to defend himself and his livelihood, Peddicord was disillusioned that he had to make use of his weapon.
“My use of one is the same as any of the other tools I have back here,” the goldsmith instructed the TV station, gesturing towards his swath of pliers, cutters, drills and extra.
“They all serve a purpose. But this is the one tool that I hope to never have to use.”
The enterprise proprietor, who spent three years deployed in Afghanistan, mentioned his navy coaching got here in helpful for the incident.
“Thank my lucky stars that I put so much thought and time and repetitive training and practice into how to responsibly carry a firearm,” Peddicord mentioned.
The Omaha Police Department couldn’t instantly verify whether or not or not the would-be jewel thief was captured.
