Delaware jewelry shop owner relearning how to walk after being brutally beaten, pistol-whipped during armed robbery
A jewelry shop owner was pistol-whipped and brutally beaten during an armed robbery in Wilmington, Delaware.
On the morning of Sept. 15, Calvin Ushery, 39, was captured interacting with the 68-year-old Korean American entrepreneur on surveillance footage inside the jewelry store located on the 100 block of West 9th Street.
In the video, Ushery can be seen pulling out a gun and grabbing the owner before pistol-whipping him in the head. The 68-year-old then falls to the ground as the suspect jumps over the display case and goes on to stomp on the man’s head. The suspect then proceeds to go through display cases and steal jewelry before fleeing the scene.
According to reports, the man was also repeatedly hit in the head with a hammer by the suspect.
The store owner suffered from internal head bleeding and a severe concussion, according to his son Steve Suh. He spent four days in the ICU before he was taken to a rehabilitation facility.
Ushery was arrested on Sept. 22 and charged with robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited and criminal mischief under $5,000.
He was reportedly arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and is being held at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $130,500 cash-only bail.
Suh estimates that the total value of the jewelry stolen was around $100,000. He has since set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for his father’s medical bills.
“My father came to this country with the hope of economic promise,” Suh wrote on the fundraising page. “For years, he worked 12 hour days as a cashier and saved. Used his savings to open a small grocery store, then finally a jewelry store called Solid Gold. This store holds a special place for my family. It put me through college and provided a place for my brother, a combat Veteran, to go after he came back from overseas battered and lost. My father loves this store and he loves the community which surrounds it. He loves his customers, and I would like to think that there is mutual admiration and respect for every gold chain across the counter.”
According to Suh, his father is currently relearning how to walk and talk again.
“I am raising this campaign to help pay for my dad’s medical bills, help my dad retire, and bring awareness to his case so that we may seek justice. Any excess funds will be shared to support local nonprofits/organizations that support safety in the city and Asian-American hate crime groups,” Suh wrote.
Featured Image via Dion Lim / Steve Suh
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