JCPenney robber foiled when shoppers step in. He made it worse with pepper spray, police say
A Minnesota man who was allegedly trying to steal jewelry in Merced on Friday was arrested after accidentally pepper spraying himself, police said.
The man, Stephan Stanley, 39, was breaking into a glass jewelry case at JCPenney in the Merced Mall when two men nearby grabbed hold of him to stop him from stealing the jewelry.
Stanley started fighting the two men and hit one of them with a hammer, according to a Merced Police Department Facebook post. He then allegedly tried to pepper spray one of the men but instead pepper sprayed himself. The two men were able to hold him down until police arrived.
No one sustained life-threatening injuries in the incident, according to police, and Stanley was arrested on suspicion of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and drug charges.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Merced Police Officer Jesus Lopez at 209-388-7782 or lopezj@cityofmerced.org.
