WATCH: Jeweler chases down man who police say stole $1,800 ring

YELM, Wash. — A would-be robber tried to make a run for it with an expensive piece of jewelry in his hand. What he didn’t know was the jeweler chasing him was armed.

Surveillance video showed the suspect, identified by Yelm police as Josiah Oli, talking with jeweler Tony Farwell about a sale when he suddenly turns and runs for the door with an $1,800 ring in his hand.

“All of the sudden, he just kind of pulled in and turned around and decided to run out the door,” said Farwell.

Oli walked into Farwell’s Fine Jewelry around 3 p.m. Wednesday asking for an appraisal on a ring he brought with him. When Farwell said he didn’t do appraisals, Oli asked to look at a ring in the display case. Farwell said once Oli had it in his hands, he bolted.

“I yelled at him to stop, and of course he didn’t. And so I decided to give a little chase there,” said Farwell.

As he was chased down the sidewalk, Oli repeatedly said he had a gun and pulled one out, according to Farwell. What he didn’t know was that Farwell was armed.

“And then he decided to say, ‘I have a gun’ again, and that’s when he pulled it out from his waistband, and that’s when I pulled my gun,” Farwell said.

Oli slipped and fell outside a Quizno’s sandwich shop, dropping his gun, and Farwell jumped on him. Another man watching the struggle from a nearby store helped subdue Oli and Farwell held him at gunpoint until police arrived. Oli, was actually carrying a BB gun, according to Farwell, who said he’s glad Oli dropped it because it looked like a real handgun.

“So at this point, you’re kind of waiting for him to decide if he’s going to turn around and point it at you,” said Farwell. “And he didn’t. Luckily, we all got to go home. He went to jail but, you know, he’s alive today.”

Oli was booked into the Thurston County Jail by Yelm police on a robbery charge.

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