Toronto police have laid three charges in connection to the robbery of a jewelry store on Friday.
Police say a gunman walked into a jewelry store in the Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West area last Friday. He is alleged to have brandished a 9mm handgun as he made a demand for jewelry and then attacked the store owner.
Local entrepreneur "Harold the Jewellery Buyer" Gerstel told CTV News he was the victim of the attack.
Gerstel said his attacker had been in the store at least three times before and had left jewelry behind in exchange for a loan of more than $4,000.
The man returned on Friday, asking to sell the items for additional cash.
"When I was studying the pieces, I see him pulling out a gun from his waistband," Gerstel told CTV Toronto.
Gerstel said he panicked and leaped towards the gun, trying to grab it out of the man's hands.
"Then he started hitting me on the head with the gun and I kind of blacked out for a few minutes," Gerstel said.
Gerstel doesn't remember much more.
The man let himself out of the store and made off with the jewelry.
Luckily for Gerstel, the robber had left his ID behind, using it to secure the loan earlier in the week. There were also security cameras all around the shop.
Police arrested a suspect a short time later.
Gerstel was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was back in the shop by Tuesday, sporting a black eye and some stitches.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Toronto police said that 29-year-old Khan Facey faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and careless storage of a weapon.
This isn't the first time Gerstel has been a victim of crime. In December 2010 his old store was burned by arson and Gerstel has offered a $50,000 reward for information on that case.
With files from CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry
