A rock and ski mask.
Those were the tools of choice for a smash-and-grab thief caught on surveillance video trying to swipe more than $25,000 worth of watches from a South Jersey store over the weekend.
He didn’t count on an active member of the United States Air Force being in store.
Video from inside the TJ Maxx store along South Route 73 in Marlton, N.J. show the masked man -- who also wore a hood -- enter the store around 7:20 p.m. Sunday and go directly to the jewelry counter where he pulls out a rock and throws it through the glass.
The man loaded $25,797 worth of high-end watches into a bag before he started to leave the store.
You see on the video the airman walking around the jewelry counter and then tackling the thief as he tried to flee the store. A struggle ensued and in the process the suspect lost his ski mask and the stolen merchandise, according to Evesham Township Police.
Empty handed, the suspect ran out of the store.
Anyone who recognizes the would-be thief or that has more information about the incident is asked to contact Evesham police by phone at 856-983-1116, by email, or by sending an anonymous tips text starting with ETPDTIP to 847411.
Photo Credit: Surveillance Image