Jewelry heist foiled.

Alfredo Guido and son Meliton Aguirre own Jewelry Francy's in Pompano Beach, Florida. On July 30, they, two employees, and Aguirre's fiancee were in the jewelry store when four masked robbers (two of them armed) burst through the door after Guido pressed the security buzzer to allow a client inside.

Aguirre grabbed a handgun hidden under the counter and took cover behind the cash register. As one of the armed miscreants aimed a gun at Guido's head, the other noticed Aguirre and fired at him. Aguirre returned fire and missed, but the bullet struck and mortally wounded one of the other thugs. A second robber was also wounded during the shootout. Neither Aguirre nor the other innocents were harmed.

The four men fled empty-handed, but Jamal Shelton, who bad been hit by the errant bullet, collapsed in front of the store and later died at a local medical center. In recent years he had been arrested at least a dozen times for offenses ranging from auto theft, burglary, and illegally carrying a firearm, to drug possession and aggravated assault on a police officer.

One of the three remaining suspects, Collin Cheatom, was found and arrested the next day. He had been wounded in an elbow and a wrist, and had also suffered severe cuts on a hand while smashing through the store's front window to escape.

Another suspect, David Spencer Hollis, was arrested on September 8, and the last, Dameon Wilkey, surrendered to authorities at his home in Fort Lauderdale on September 24. According to sheriff's deputies, Wilkey confessed to his role in the robbery.

Cheatom, Hollis and Wilkey have all been charged with armed robbery and murder during a felony. Under Florida law persons involved in a crime can be held responsible for any death that occurs during its commission, including that of an accomplice.