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An Allentown man being treated at a New York City hospital for a gunshot wound to his stomach is believed to be one of three robbers behind Thursday morning's holdup and shooting of a York Township jewelry store owner.
The FBI tracked down that man to a hospital in the Bronx, York Area Regional Police Officer Peter Montgomery said.
He was accidentally shot by one of his accomplices during Thursday's 10:28 a.m. robbery at White Jewelers, 204 St. Charles Way, according to the officer.
The FBI and police in Allentown and New York City have been assisting York Area Regional investigators in their search for the robbers, Montgomery confirmed.
New York City Police questioned the man in the hospital, but he was uncooperative and would not say how he got shot, Montgomery said. Still, officers were quickly able to determine he was involved, according to police.
"Everything started pointing in the right direction," Montgomery said.
Arrest warrant: York Area Regional investigators have obtained an arrest warrant for the man, whose name was not released as of 4 p.m. Friday. Montgomery said the man is believed to live in Allentown and it's unclear why he went to a New York hospital.
He remains in custody at the Bronx hospital, Montgomery said, "probably handcuffed to his hospital bed."
The owner of White Jewelers was shot three times during the robbery -- in the abdomen, the left arm and the shoulder/chest area, police said.
John White, 57, remained in serious condition Friday afternoon, a York Hospital spokesman said.
'A lot of chaos': According to Montgomery, it appears the hospitalized suspect was shot by one of his fellow robbers after walking out of a back room of the store and startling the gunman.
"There was a lot of chaos," he said.
The wounded robber then ran outside and sought help from a third robber, who was waiting in a getaway car, Montgomery said.
Now that one of the alleged robbers is in custody, investigators are hopeful they'll be able to identify the accomplices as well, Montgomery said.
Video surveillance from White Jewelers shows one robber is responsible for shooting both White and the alleged robber, Montgomery said.
Watches taken: After stealing jewelry, including watches, all three men fled the store and took off in a green Hyundai Elantra that was stolen from the Harrisburg area, York Area Regional Police Chief Tom Gross said.
The robbers drove a short distance to the Powder Mill Apartments on Dewdrop Road, where they abandoned the Hyundai, got in the waiting black 2010 Chevrolet Impala and took off, police said. The Impala belongs to a woman who lives in Allentown, according to Gross.
Police did not say how that woman is connected to the wounded alleged robber.
A witness who saw the car switch told investigators he saw four men getting into the Impala and fleeing, Montgomery said.
High-end watches: It's not yet known exactly what jewelry, or how many watches, were taken in the robbery, according to Montgomery.
"There were items taken that were expensive stuff," he said, including high-end watches that cost several thousand dollars each. White Jewelers is an official retailer of Rolex watches, according to its website.
White has owned and managed White Jewelers since 1988, according to the store's website, and he is a second-generation jewelry-store owner.
-- Staff writer Liz Evans Scolforo can also be reached at levans@yorkdispatch.com.
