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Police: White Jewelers owner in stable condition after being shot during robberyYORK, Pa., Jul 13, 2012 (York Daily Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A jewelry store owner was in stable condition after he was shot three times during a robbery at his York Township store Thursday morning, according to York Area Regional Police. John White, owner of White Jewelers, at 204 St. Charles Way, had surgery at York Hospital after he was shot in his arm-shoulder area and abdomen, York Area Regional Police Chief Tom Gross said. Police are looking for three male robbers who left the store with several watches, Gross said. They left in a light green Hyundai Elantra that police traced as a stolen vehicle out of Dauphin County, said York Area Regional Police Officer Peter Montgomery. The men drove to an apartment complex about a half-mile from the jewelry store where they switched vehicles and left in a second car, a 2010 black Chevrolet Impala, bearing Pennsylvania license plate HXH-7313, Gross said. A fourth man was seen by a witness entering the Impala, Montgomery said. "We believe one might be the driver," he said. The Impala's plate was traced back to Allentown, Gross said. As of Thursday afternoon, police had not found the second car or made any arrests. York Hospital said White was not listed as a patient in the computer system. One of White's employees, Abby Walker, said that about 8:40 p.m. Thursday, White was still in the operating room. Walker said she had been on maternity leave but had begun working for White again recently. "I had corresponded with John yesterday about coming in this morning to drop off and pick up some more work," she wrote in Facebook message Thursday. "He never responded to let me know if any work was ready so I held off. Thank God I did because I would have been there at the time of the robbery with my 3-month-old daughter." Minutes after the robbery, York Area Regional Police detectives and patrol officers arrived at the scene. As investigators gathered information, Gross spoke with the media, explaining that just before 10:30 a.m., two armed men walked into the store and said they were robbing it. A third man soon joined them inside, he said. The owner, along with two employees -- a man and a woman -- were inside the store, Gross said. During the robbery, the men shot at least one of the glass cases and took the watches, Gross said. At first, police believed the Impala might be heading south to Maryland, so they called Maryland State Police to be ready in case the car crossed the border. Once they received information that the three men were in the Impala, York Area Regional called Pennsylvania State Police to fly their helicopter, in an effort to scour state routes heading north. Investigators are checking for video surveillance footage, both inside the store and in other locations nearby, Gross said. Fellow business owners watched and wondered Word of what happened at the jewelry store spread among business owners and managers at the shopping center. Bonnie Stein, manager at Maple Donuts, described White as a "real nice man, very soft-spoken. ... I just hope he's OK." She was at the bank at the time and then saw all of the emergency vehicles when she returned. "It just doesn't happen around here," she said. UPS Store employee Pam Emswiler said they heard something, but didn't know what it was. "All we heard were shots; we didn't realize what they were," she said. She and the other employees thought it might've been someone removing garbage. "I think it was three shots we heard and then a thud." She didn't realize there was an emergency until several minutes later when she saw a York Area Regional Police motorcycle pull into the parking lot. Robin Svoboda, hair stylist at E-Clips Hair Designs, described White as "laid-back," but also protective of business. "There was a time John chased a guy across the parking lot," who had taken a watch from the store, she recalled. Svoboda said she was outside E-Clips that morning when emergency personnel wheeled White out of his store on a stretcher. "I was worried about his condition. I was very happy to see him come out alive." Terry Dobbins, of TS Dobbins, a boutique in the shopping center, said all of the owners there know each other well and have often discussed matters of concern, such as robberies. "We're all neighbors, we've all been here since the shopping center opened" in 1998, she said. "We just went through and had our security system checked. ... That's been on our minds, but I never imagined it could happen here." Abby Walker, who works for White, called him a fun guy. "He has many loyal customers that you could even call his friends because they have shopped with him for so many years," she said. "The news was devastating and I'm really worried about my boss. Even though they said he is doing well in surgery it's serious and scary. I would never want anything to happen to him. He's a very generous boss and takes good care of his employees." About White Jewelers In 1970, Henry White, the founder of White Jewelers, opened his first location at 33 W. Market St. in York. That store eventually closed in 1984. The business opened its second location in 1980 at the Queensgate Shopping Center in York Township. In 2003, the store moved to its current location at 204 St. Charles Way in the township. John White now runs the store. The shop is the only Rolex dealer in York County, according to Rolex's website. Source: www.whitejeweler.com ___ (c)2012 York Daily Record (York, Pa.) 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