In apparent Christmas spirit, a jewelry store owner in Gardendale, Alabama, thwarted a would-be burglar on Wednesday night.
Speaking with AL.com, the store’s owner, Jeff Dennis, recounted the incident.
He saw a woman enter his store with a face mask and coat on and he stated, “I knew then what was happening.”
The owner promptly put a block in the door to keep it open to help prevent the robbery he believed was going to happen. Once he assessed the situation, Dennis told the outlet, “so I drew my weapon.”
He recalled the woman allegedly telling him, “Happy holidays.”
“I don’t want to hurt y’all, but I am [going to],” the aspiring robber added.
The woman attacked Dennis with bear spray, but he was able to move out of the way and shoot her in the shoulder.
Dennis added, “I did what I had to do to protect my store and my employees.”
Dennis did not sustain any injuries, but he did highlight the effectiveness of bear spray.
“If you’ve ever been around bear spray but it’s so toxic,’’ Dennis added. “Within seconds, we were burning, couldn’t hardly see, coughing.
“It’s still in here today and I had a professional cleanup crew come last night.”
“It’s still in our throats and we’re having to wipe down everything with soap and water and throw away a lot of stuff,’’ he continued.
Dennis added: “It’s pretty brutal.”
A few hours later, the Gardendale Police Department announced via a Facebook post that the offender was in custody.
Suspect Heather Denise Wright, 32, has since been charged with “three counts of first-degree robbery and three counts of criminal use of defense spray,” AL.com reported in a follow-up story.
Update: here is the mugshot of Heather Denise Wright, charged with 3 counts of robbery and 3 counts of criminal use of defense spray against the owner of Jeff Dennis Jewelers. Source: Gardendale Police Dpt pic.twitter.com/yZLYTuVdHP
— Olivianna Calmes TV (@OliviannaC) December 8, 2023
Wright has a lengthy criminal history, according to the outlet, and she is still in the hospital recovering from injuries she suffered on Wednesday.
After Wright exits the hospital, she will be checked into the Jefferson County Jail, with a $90,000 bond.