Suspect in brutal attack, robbery of Wilmington jewelry store owner goes to trial

A jury will begin to hear evidence on Tuesday in the case against a man accused of using a hammer to assault a local jewelry store owner in a heist captured on video in 2022.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys gave their opening statements Monday in the case against Calvin Ushery, a Wilmington man charged with robbery, assault and other crimes tied to the September 2022 robbery of Solid Gold Jewelers on 9th Street in downtown Wilmington.

Surveillance video of the brutal attack and robbery circulated shortly after the incident and was the first thing prosecutors showed the jury during opening statements.

"This is not a smash and grab," said Deputy Attorney General Karin Volker. "It is a planned robbery and assault."

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The video begins with the suspect grabbing the owner of the store, who was 68 years old at the time of the robbery. The video shows the man strike the store owner with a pistol, leaving him on the ground. The robber then sets about placing jewelry in a bag, taking several minutes to gather items.

Periodically, the robber returned to the owner of the store and struck him again, including blows with a hammer, prosecutors said. After several minutes of gathering the store's inventory, the robber appears to use a cloth to wipe surfaces in the store. The intruder wore sunglasses and carried a black backpack.

Surveillance footage from nearby shows the man police believe to be the robber riding a bicycle away.

The jewelry store owner spent four days in the ICU following the attack.

Volker, the prosecutor, told the jury that Wilmington Police quickly alerted nearby pawn shops for anyone trying to sell a large amount of jewelry. A week later, calls started coming in.

Two stores reported to police that someone attempted to sell large a amount of jewelry on the same day, Volker said. They shared surveillance footage depicting a man prosecutors said fit the physical description of the robber.

Later, an officer spotted the person they believed matched the description of the robber walking on the street and called for backup. By the time the other officers arrived, the man was attempting to sell jewelry to a woman at a local gas station, Volker said. That man, Ushery, was arrested and later charged.

Volker told the jury that jewelry from the attempted gas-station transaction was identified by a family member of the store owner as coming from their store. That family member also told police a necklace worn by the man pictured at the pawn shops also matched stock from the store, Volker said.

During a search of Ushery's apartment, police also found a bicycle that they said matched the robber's getaway ride.

Matthew Keating, Ushery's attorney, told the jury that the video of the robbery is "visceral" and "provokes a lot of emotion" but implored them not to channel that against his client.

"You shouldn't jump to conclusions," Keating told jurors.

He pointed to images from the robbery and the pawn shop, telling the jury: "similar doesn't mean the same."

The trial is expected to conclude by the end of the week.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Man accused of jewelry store robbery, beating goes to trial