Masked suspects smash Round Rock jewelry store, flee with Rolexes

A fast, violent robbery at Marc Robinson Jewelers in Round Rock Premium Outlets turned a luxury showcase into a retail-security warning. About eight masked suspects rushed the store just after 12:47 p.m. on April 21, smashed display cases with hammers, pepper-sprayed a store employee and a bystander, and escaped with a large haul of jewelry that store owner Sherazad Sunny Lokhandwala says included 50 to 60 pre-owned Rolexes.

The robbery happened inside the open-air outlet center at 4401 N. Interstate 35, a property known for roughly 125 designer and name-brand stores and a steady stream of daytime shoppers. That mix of crowd flow, visible inventory and easy vehicle access is exactly what makes outlet jewelers vulnerable: the stores sit in public view, but the attack itself is over in minutes, with force used to break glass and intimidate anyone nearby before security can fully respond.

Police say the suspects wore masks and gloves and fled in a blue Hyundai Sonata that had been reported stolen out of Humble in the Houston metro area. Officers later found the car abandoned at the 401 Teravista apartment complex and took it for processing. Round Rock police said the case remains active and asked anyone with information to contact Detective Dwayne Riley at (512) 218-6619.

Lokhandwala said no customers were inside when the robbery happened, and the employee who was pepper-sprayed was treated by paramedics and is expected to recover. He also said his staff had been trained to walk away from violent confrontations, a detail that underscores how quickly a jewelry robbery can escalate from property crime to a direct threat to workers and shoppers.

For mall operators and gold buyers, the lesson is not just about loss, but visibility. Stores that carry high-value watches and easily resold gold pieces need more than display lighting and locked cases. Shoppers should expect to see reinforced glass, clearer sight lines to the sales floor, stronger camera coverage, tighter access to back rooms and staff who are trained to disengage instead of intervene. The Round Rock case, with its hammers, stolen getaway car and targeted watch inventory, fits the hard-edged smash-and-grab pattern that has kept Texas jewelers on edge: quick entry, targeted luxury goods, blunt-force damage and a getaway planned before anyone can react.

Lokhandwala said his business had operated for more than 12 years without an incident like this. After one midday raid, the calculation for outlet jewelry retail has changed, and the cost is being measured not only in Rolexes, but in the security burden now expected of every store on the sales floor.