Nashville, TN – — A Nashville jewelry store staff stopped a robber before they were about to close up shop. However, they told News 2 that it wasn’t the first time they’d been targeted.
On Friday, 38-year-old Joshua Calvo allegedly walked into Peacock Jewelers in South Nashville and told the owners he wanted to sell them a piece of jewelry. Staff told News 2 he had asked them to start a custom-designed piece as a distraction.
They said he came into and out of the store multiple times, and waited until they were about to lock up for the night before pulling out a gun.
“When he tried to pull the gun on us, one of the security guards that he didn’t realize was here went to the front door — preventing him from leaving — and there was another security guard in the back that he didn’t realize was there,” store co-owner Joey Nunley said.
Calvo was allegedly stealing watch straps, the owners told News 2, and he had also slipped a $31,000 one-of-a-kind pendant into his sleeve. Staff members told him to put the gun down; when Calvo turned, a security guard tackled him to the ground and subdued him until he could be arrested by an officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department.
“Had we not had the security here that night, I don’t think we would have made it,” Nunley said. “I think he would have either killed us or worse — put us in a situation where we were locked up in the safe or something where we couldn’t breathe.”
Court records obtained by News 2 showed that Calvo had been arrested for felony burglary in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Calvo has also been repeatedly arrested for theft.
It’s also the second time the 21st Avenue business has been targeted by thieves. In 2021, robbers stole $25,000 in jewelry. That loss wasn’t recovered. However this time, they were able to get the pendant back.
The owners told News 2 they’re working to increase their security measures by installing more panic buttons throughout the store.
“I’m just thankful that no one was hurt and that this individual is now in the hands of the police and it hopefully stays that way for a long time,” Paul Wilson, a co-owner at Peacock Jewelers said.
Calvo has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and theft in connection with this case. The co-owners also told News 2 that they had written the District Attorney’s Office and asked for Calvo to be charged to the fullest extent of the law.
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