KANAGAWA (TR) – On September 3, police arrested Makoto Takai, 29, on suspicion of robbery and assault at a pawnshop in Kamakura City.
In carrying out the caper, Takai and another suspect, who fled the scene, used a crowbar to smash glass cases inside the shop, located near JR Ofuna Station.
The apprehension of Takai came via a valiant takedown administered by an employee of the shop, all of which was captured on security camera footage.
At around 6:30 p.m. the two men enter the pawnshop. They then quickly crouch down and take out a crowbar from a duffle bag. The second suspect swings the crowbar at a show case, shattering the glass.
The aforementioned employee enters the frame and pins Takai up against the show case. The other man, who had been watching what was happening, flees in a panic. The pinned man desperately resists and tries to escape.
Then the employee’s mother appears. She calls for help outside. Meanwhile, the employee desperately clings to the man who is trying to shake him off. They collapse onto the floor and begin wrestling.
About five minutes later, police arrive to apprehend Takai. The second suspect remains on the run.
The damage amounted to two watches, worth a total of 22,000 yen.
“I’m going to turn myself in to the police”
The pawnshop employee, 41, suffered a number of injuries, including a cut to his mouth.
“I think I got cut when the other guy’s shoulder or something hit me while we were struggling,” he says to Nippon News Network (Sep. 4).
During the scuffle, Takai was begging the employee to let him go, suggesting that there was a misunderstanding.
“I don’t know if it was an excuse, but he was saying things like, ‘No, it’s not true,'” the employee continues. “He said some other things I didn’t understand, but it was an excuse to run away. Stuff like, ‘I’m going to turn myself in to the police.'”
“It’s a bit scary”
The incident occurred just after 6:30 p.m., when there are usually a lot of people in the area. It happened in a busy downtown area lined with izakaya restaurants and “snack” bars, less than 100 meters away from JR Ofuna Station.
“I heard a crashing sound coming from this side. I heard some yelling,” a person at a nearby store tells the network.
A person from another nearby store says that the nearby Nakadori area is quite busy. “I never thought a robbery would happen at this time of night,” the person says.
A person from a third store says, “It wasn’t in the middle of the night or early in the morning, so I was a bit surprised. It was a time when there were a lot of people around. It’s a bit scary.”
This is the second such incident to take place in Kanagawa Prefecture in the last week. On August 31, a robbery and assault occurred at a pawnshop in Atsugi City. Three people were arrested in connection with that case.
The police are investigating whether the two cases are related.
Update: Police have arrested two other suspects in the Kamakura case, 22-year-old Daiki Taketani amd 21-year-old Koki Koshi. Security camera footage showed a vehicle driven by Taketani leaving the scene of the crime. Police found the two suspects inside the vehicle on September 6.
The three men did not know each other before carrying out the crime, suspecting that they became acquainted through an online solicitation for an illegal part-time job, reports NHK (Sep. 7).
