A Florida man visiting a Buckhead jewelry store earlier this month was seriously injured when he tried to stop a robbery and was thrown from the hood of a car.
The victim, who is in his 30s, is a gemologist and had stopped by Icebox Diamonds and Watches on Peachtree Road after having lunch with a friend Sept. 5, his attorney told Channel 2 Action News. The same jewelry store was the site of an estimated $10 million heist earlier this year.
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In the most recent incident to involve the business, which is popular among celebrities, the victim was attacked as he returned to his car.
According to a police report obtained by AJC.com, the man had just put a bag containing about $5,000 worth of loose diamonds in the back seat of his car. As he was walking back to the driver’s door, a black Dodge Charger pulled up beside him.
The incident was captured on the jewelry store’s surveillance cameras, Atlanta police said in the report. The footage allegedly showed a man slide out of the passenger side of the Dodge, creep along the victim’s vehicle and grab the bag.
The victim realized what was happening and ran toward the Dodge, trying to prevent the vehicle from leaving the parking lot, according to police.
“The Dodge Charger can then be seen accelerating forward and striking (the victim), who then ends up on the front hood,” an officer said in the report.
The victim held on for some time while the car sped around the parking lot, the officer said. Eventually, his body hit a parked Mercedes-Benz. He was thrown from the hood and his head hit the pavement.
After the fall, someone in the Dodge appeared to throw the victim his bag. Two minutes later, the video showed the car return for the bag, leaving the victim bleeding in the parking lot, according to police.
The man, who did not want to be identified, was knocked unconscious and suffered a puncture wound to his head. His attorney said it could have been much worse.
“It’s a mixed blessing,” Lloyd Hoffspiegel told Channel 2 in an interview. “He lost everything that was monetarily of importance to him in that backpack, but his life.”
Other businesses in the complex reported seeing someone in the same Dodge Charger pulling on door handles before the attack, police said in the report. Investigators believe the occupants watched the man leave Icebox and waited for him.
In addition to the loose diamonds, he reported about $1,200 worth of baseball cards were inside his bag, along with his laptop.
The incident remains under investigation, an Atlanta police spokesman said Tuesday.
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