A pawn shop robbery didn’t go as planned for the bad guys when the store owner pulled a gun, shooting and killing one of the suspects. Watch the newly released CCTV footage of the encounter above.
Pawn Shop Robbery
The incident—which took place in early May but video footage of which was only made available late last week under a public records request—began when the owner of Bountiful Pawn in Bountiful, Utah wheeled a bicycle toward the front door of the store. The video shows him getting to the front door. But as he does so, a man appears and aims a gun at him.
The owner quickly puts his hands up and backs away. The armed suspect enters the pawn shop, followed closely by a second man who is holding a black bag and what appears to be a hammer. That man walks to another part of the store.
According to Deseret News, police said the suspects then ordered the shop owner to get on the ground. But he didn’t. Instead—as the armed suspect turned to close the front door of the store—the shop owner retreated to another room and pulled out a concealed handgun of his own. The video shows him turning around and aiming his gun at the armed suspect who followed him.
Even with the gun aimed at him, the suspect continues moving toward the owner, prompting the owner to pull the trigger. Despite being shot, the suspect enters the room and a physical struggle ensues between the two men. Bountiful Police Lt. Dave Edwards said the suspect tried to strangle the owner during the altercation.
During the struggle in the side room, the second suspect is seen fleeing from the store. Seconds later, the owner emerges—with blood on his right hand—and runs offscreen, concluding the video.
Aftermath
Bountiful police arrived on the scene and discovered the body of 40-year-old Kleydys Arbolaez-Hernandez. His accomplice, 30-year-old Alexyanis Cutino Jimenez, a.k.a. Alexander Cutino Sanchez, was arrested in Houston, Texas at the end of the month on outstanding fugitive arrest warrants for armed robbery, police said in a statement.
The two men are believed to be responsible for 10 different armed robberies in Utah, starting in January and ending with the Bountiful Pawn robbery in May. In addition, the duo is linked to five additional robberies in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.
“We can see in other videos detectives obtained in Oklahoma the same weapon was used, the same clothing. That was one of the things that tied the case up for us,” Edwards told Fox 13.
Jimenez has been indicted on 11 counts of robbery and 11 counts of using a firearm during a violent crime, Deseret News reported.
The Bountiful Pawn shop owner was uninjured. He won’t be facing any charges; police determined this to be a justified shoot.
“Clearly, the clerk trained and prepared for this day,” Edwards said. “In speaking with the clerk, I know that he’s deeply saddened that this had to occur.”
