U.S. Marine recruiters intervened recently to stop a smash-and-grab jewelry heist at a Los Angles shopping mall, tackling two of the four suspects to the ground as they attempted to flee.
Marine Staff Sgt. Josue Fragoso was meeting with an applicant at his recruiting station two doors down from Daniel’s Jewelers in the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance when he heard glass shattering and loud screams from bystanders, he told Fox News on Wednesday.
Fragoso and his potential recruit sprinted toward the jewelry store, where four people wearing masks and armed with hammers were destroying the glass display cases before running off with thousands of dollars of jewelry.
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"I heard a bunch of glass breaking. When I did, my first response was to go check out the jewelry store," Fragoso said in an interview on "Tucker Carlson Tonight." " I had to make sure everything was all right. As I approached the jewelry store, I saw four individuals that were robbing the store. They had a sledgehammer there."
In video footage that aired on Fox News, Fragoso can be seen tackling one of the suspects to the ground as the others fled to the nearest exit. The applicant and a second Marine recruiter managed to apprehend a second suspect with the help of bystanders, Fragoso said.
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"I was able to apprehend one of the suspects. The applicant of mine was able to apprehend another one," Fragoso told guest host Sean Duffy. "Between a couple of us and the bystanders, we detained two of the four for the police to come and take them away."
The two suspects, both minors, were taken into police custody. The Marines later recovered approximately 20 pieces of jewelry outside the mall and returned them to the store, The Marine Times reported.
"I don’t think they expected to have individuals in uniform stop them that weren’t police officers," Fragoso added.
A man who captured the robbery on video praised the men for springing into action before authorities arrived at the scene.
"[It was] the Marines. The Marine Corps… They stepped up, they tackled them down," he told Fox News Los Angeles. "Two got away, two got tackled down, and they stepped it up. That's enough. Time to fight back.
Fragoso said he was commended by his superiors for upholding the values of the Marine Corps and approaching the situation with composure and integrity.
"They were absolutely very happy, they thanked me. They said it’s the Marine thing to do, to make sure we uphold our own values," he said.
As for the applicant, Fragoso said he will "definitely be enlisting" once his paperwork clears.
