Elderly Camera Store Owner Fights Thieves Who Make Off With $6,000 in Gear

Jim Smetzer attempts to fight off the two men who got away with cameras and lenses.

An elderly camera store owner in Florida fought back against two robbers who made off with over $6,000 worth of camera gear.

The proprietor of Pasco Camera Exchange Jim Smetzer got into a physical altercation with the two men after one of them grabbed a Canon R-series camera that was sitting in a box on the counter.

The other man jumped over the counter and grabbed a lens that was also in a box. Smetzer tried to stop them but he was thrown to the ground during the skirmish.

According to local reports, Smetzer suffered minor injuries yet refused to close the store in New Port Richey, just north of Tampa, the day it happened.

“Almost 30 years being here and I’ve never had that happen before,” Smetzer tells WTSP. “You feel violated. You feel like why did it have to happen.”

Smetzer tells Fox13 that a third man was waiting in the car outside so “it was pretty well planned out.” He says the two men were acting suspiciously; asking vague camera questions.

“You’re kind of aware that this could be a situation where someone is trying to set you up to rob you. I was trying to be extra careful about not leaving things on the counter, moving things to the shelves and it still happened,” Smetzer tells Fox13.

“When they decided they were going to grab and run, I immediately, just a reflex, ‘no you’re not taking my stuff,’ grabbing back. It was scary, because it’s like I’m going to try and stop these guys. I don’t know how I’m going to stop them.”

As well as the minor injuries he suffered, Smetzer has also suffered an emotional toll after his sense of security has been violated.

Smetzer is passionate about his camera store calling it a “home from home.” He has ran the shop with his wife Annette for the past 30 years but is now hoping to sell the store so they can retire.

Smetzer says he wants to help prosecute the two men who were last seen climbing into a dark-colored Mazda and heading north on US-19. However, New Port Richey police are still trying to find the two suspects and are appealing to the public for information.

Pasco News reports that police have identified two men — Tyrell Brown and Julius Stevens — as persons of interest. Both are from South Carolina and there is a $1,000 reward for information on the case.