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Mall gunman steals golden Jesus from jewelry store

Posted at 3:41 PM, Oct 10, 2013
and last updated 2013-10-11 07:08:38-04

CHESTERFIELD, Va (WTVR) - The man who police said robbed a jewelry store inside Chesterfield Towne Center pretended to be a customer prior to the robbery, police said.

Around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday night, Chesterfield Police responded to Chesterfield Towne Center for reports of an armed robbery at Prince Jewelers.

Investigators said the suspect entered the store with his weapon concealed and asked the clerk to see a few items.  Once the clerk laid the items out, the suspect pulled out his weapon, grabbed a pricey gold necklace bearing the face of Jesus.

“Everybody needs God, but not that way,” said one shopper, who called the incident troubling.

Then the robber an out of the store ran past the children’s play area, which is close by the mall’s entrance.

No shots were fired during the robbery, according to police.

Prince Jewelers sits only 30 yards from an entrance at Chesterfield Towne Center.  Police said that may have been the reason the suspect hit that particular store.  Prince Jewelers is one of eleven jewelry shops inside the mall on Midlothian Turnpike.

The mall does have security cameras, and although police did not release specifics of what was capture, detectives are processing video of the robbery from multiple sources.

Police said plan on releasing images of the suspect as soon as they are available.

The suspect is described as a black male about 20 to 25 years of age, 6 feet 1 inches tall and 160 pounds wearing a black and white shirt and black pants.

Anyone with information that could aid in the investigation is asked to call Chesterfield police at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.