The robbery occurred in the driveway of the victim's residence in the Arlington area of Riverside at 7:50 p.m. Thursday. Neighbor Ruben Torres said he heard four gunshots.
"I jumped out of the chair. I was watching TV. Came out, didn't see nothing. Then I went back in and said, 'They're firing a gun,' " said Torres.
Riverside police officials say the victim owns jewelry stores in Riverside and Corona.
"He was robbed of gold jewelry, that is his trade, and there was a confrontation, a fight and the victim was shot four times," said Riverside Police Dept. Spokesman Steve Frasher.
The suspects left the scene in a car that was stolen earlier in the evening. That car was abandoned a mile from the victim's home. One bag of gold jewelry was recovered.
While the store appears to be well-secured, a neighboring shop owner offered an explanation of why the owner might have transferred gold jewelry to his residence.
"I think the reason he was taking them home was because he was broken into one time a few months back. And I think, so each day, he takes them home and brings them back in," said business owner Polly Loop.
At the owner's residence, a friend said the jeweler was in stable condition at an area hospital. Riverside police continue to process the scene of the robbery. They're looking for two young Hispanic men.
"This is one of those cases where somebody somewhere knows who those suspects are and investigators really need to hear from those people," said Frasher.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Riverside Police Investigative Unit at (951) 353-7104.
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