JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Charges have been dropped against a local man who was arrested after catching a thief who robbed the liquor store he worked at last month.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
Chouaib Moufakir is a Moroccan citizen living in Jacksonville.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
He’s married to a woman who is a US citizen.
Up until last month, he managed the MBC Liquor store on Cassat Avenue, but on May 20, a robbery at the store threw his life into turmoil.
Security video exclusively obtained by Action News Jax shows two suspects running out of the store with multiple bottles of liquor.
Moufakir and another employee can be seen chasing after them.
Moufakir was equipped with the gun kept at the store.
Jacksonville City civil rights legend Ben Frazier’s funeral to be held next week
“They turn to me and start attacking me. They throw bottles and shooting at me,” Moufakir said.
Read: Jacksonville political adviser Susie Wiles was present during exchange at center of Trump docs case
Security footage didn’t capture the interaction when Moufakir caught up with the suspects and their getaway driver, but it did catch bystanders’ reactions when shots rang out.
Moufakir’s attorney Mitch Stone claims shots were fired by both the thieves and Moufakir, but he alleges the thieves shot first.
“Chouaib takes out his gun and shoots it in the air as a warning shot, which stops them from throwing the bottles and doing the things they were doing to him,” Stone said.
Stone explained the driver took off and one suspect fled on foot, but the two employees managed to capture one of the suspects.
Video shows Moufakir returning to put away the gun before going back to where his coworker was holding the suspect.
He’s then seen bringing the suspect to the front of the store.
Read: Jacksonville City civil rights legend Ben Frazier’s funeral to be held next week
Shortly after the suspect appears to swing at Moufakir, causing a struggle between the two men, which ended with the suspect being subdued on the ground.
That’s where the police found him when they arrived.
“That guy ultimately lied to the police,” Stone said.
Both men were arrested.
Moufakir was charged with assault and battery after the suspected thief told police he’d been pistol-whipped.
Stone says thankfully, after obtaining the security video, the State Attorney dropped the charges this week.
“In the end the State did the right thing and we prevailed so it was a good ending to what could have been a tragedy,” Stone said.
Had he been convicted, Stone said Moufakir’s dreams of one day becoming a US citizen, would have been over.
“Had he been convicted of them, would have led to his being removed from this country and separated from his wife,” Stone said.
Moufakir told Action News Jax he learned a lot from the ordeal, and he’s thankful things turned out alright in the end.
“I’ll try to defend myself, how I try to defend this country and try my best to be a good citizen. Even if I’m not born in this country and God bless America,” Moufakir said.
Stone told Action News Jax the thief Moufakir caught pled guilty to petty theft.
Unfortunately for Moufakir, he lost his job after he claims the thief threatened the store owner with a lawsuit.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Stone said he’s hopeful his client can regain his employment now that the charges have been dropped.
Sign Up
