Prosecutor: Jewelry store robber threatened patrons' lives

An Elyria man threatened to kill the patrons of Kay Jewelers in Chestnut Commons during a robbery last week before making off with at least $20,000 wowrth of jewelry, a prosecutor said Friday. Brian Foster, 37, appeared in Elyria Municipal Court on Friday to be arraigned on a felony charge of aggravated robbery following the reported armed robbery on Oct. 14. Assistant Elyria City Prosecutor Matt Kishman said that Foster, of Park Meadow Drive, was arrested in part because the truck allegedly used in the robbery matched a truck Foster drove when was pulled over for operating a motor vehicle impaired earlier this year. Kishman recounted the incident and arrest to Elyria Municipal Court Judge Robert White during the arraignment. Elyria police officers were dispatched to Kay Jewelers, 550 Chestnut Commons Drive, just before 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14 for a reported armed robbery, but the robber was gone when police arrived. Kishman said that officers spoke with the manager of the store, who told them what had happened. She told police that a younger man had entered the store wearing a black face mask and gloves and carrying a cross-body satchel and a black semi-automatic handgun. As the suspect, later identified as Foster by police, entered the store, he placed a piece of black cloth over the doorjamb with duct tape to prevent the door from locking behind him. "(The suspect) then demanded that she empty out all of the jewelry and give it to him," Kishman said. "He is alleged to have pointed the gun at the manager as he was making these demands and indicated to the patrons of the jewelry store that if he heard anything, referencing anything over the police scanner, he would make sure that none of them went home tonight, i.e. kill them." The manager told police that the suspect made off with at least $20,000 in jewelry, and maybe as much as $50,000. Police searched the area for physical evidence, and reviewed security footage from the store. Kishman said that officers were able to identify a black truck they believed to have been used in the robbery using both security footage and Elyria's license plate readers. After the truck was identified, Kishman said police learned it had been driven by Foster during an OVI stop earlier this year. In reviewing body camera footage from that stop, police found Foster to be wearing the same clothes as the robber, he said. Elyria police located the truck, waited for Foster to drive it again and then initiated a traffic stop when he did so on Oct. 22. After Foster was arrested he reportedly asked police, "What took you so long to find me?" He was arrested eight days after the robbery took place. Kishman said that Foster's girlfriend, who was not identified, also spoke with police following the arrest. "She indicated that the defendant had recently lost his job, and she had noticed that he was in possession of newer items of jewelry, which included some earrings that he was presently wearing," Kishman said. Another pair of earrings were found, according to Kishman, in Foster's stomach when he underwent an X-ray scan at the Lorain County Jail. These earrings were also suspected to have been taken in the robbery. Police said on Thursday that they located additional jewelry matching the description of stolen merchandise and a black BB gun "resembling the weapon used in the robbery." Authorities have not confirmed whether this fake gun was the one used in the robbery itself. White set Foster's bond at $750,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing on Monday. White also said that if Foster were to post bond, he would be required to wear a GPS monitoring device, stay at least 500 feet away from Kay Jewelers and submit to drug and alcohol testing. He commented that Foster, who was visibly shaking throughout the video arraignment from jail, had been unable to attend a previously scheduled video arraignment on Thursday due to the fact he was "detoxing." If Foster is found guilty, the maximum penalty for aggravated robbery is 11 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.