Tucson, Arizona

From the Arizona Daily Star of December 4, 2005

Suspect jailed in attempt to flee with diamond ring

When a man attempted to walk out of an East Side jewelry store with an expensive ring Saturday morning, the shop's owner took matters into his own hands and tried to get it back.

The robbery occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the Jewel Box on East Broadway near Pantano Road, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.

A man came into the store, acting like he was going to buy a $4,500 diamond ring, according to the store's owner, Charles Serventi.

"He was talking to his sister or someone on his cell phone and he was saying he was going to use her credit card so his wife wouldn't know that he bought the ring,"

Serventi said. "Then he grabbed the ring and just ran."

Serventi chased the man into the parking lot, but he went into a nearby wash and threw the gold ring, he said.

Serventi said he fired a gun into the air and told the man to stop, but he did not. The ring has yet to be found.

Jose Verdugo, 29, was arrested a short time later on one count of felony shoplifting, Robinson said. He was booked into the Pima County jail.