ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Witness video shows four people in dark-colored clothing using hammers to smash the display glass at a Florida Mall jewelry store and steal the valuables inside.
Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff's Office said the armed robbery happened around 6 p.m. Thursday at Mayors Jewelers.
In the video, mall patrons can be heard screaming and panicking as the four people repeatedly pounded on the glass until it shatters. Once they snatched the jewelry inside, they ran out of the store and escaped through a side door, the footage shows.
"I looked to the right and saw people running, I literally started running. I just left the guests behind," Florida Mall employee Louhann Benigno said. "There was screaming, like, the entire mall just started screaming, running. It wasn’t just me, everyone were running at the same time."
Officials said the case that was smashed contained Rolex watches and in total, $342,700 worth of merchandise was stolen, including watches worth more than $30,000.
Deputies said they identified a four-door Chrysler as the vehicle the individuals fled in and established surveillance on it, which led to the suspects being arrested without incident.
Lorenzo Caldwell, Torren Johnson, Shameia Dorsey, who are all 20 years old, and a 17-year-old boy are all charged with grand theft of more than $100,000.
News 6 asked investigators if Thursday's arrests were connected to a distraction theft robbery that took place last year at Mayors Jewelry but has not heard back.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office said there is a deputy assigned to Florida Mall and patrols will be added if needed.
Deputies said the investigation is ongoing.