Baltimore’s ‘crazy’ crime surge takes toll as longtime local business forced to close: ‘Not safe’

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Baltimore business owner closing her doors after being robbed at gunpoint for 2nd time in 6 months

Jody Rosoff blasted elected officials in Baltimore and called on them to explain to the public why criminals are "running rampant" on city streets. Credit: Jody Rosoff

A Baltimore business owner says that rising crime, which she experienced first hand when she was recently robbed at gunpoint for the second time and forced to shoot the intruder, is forcing her to close her business she has owned for more than four decades.

"This is our second armed robbery in six months," Jody Rosoff, owner of Doc’s Smoke Shop in Baltimore’s Highlandtown neighborhood, told Fox 45 Baltimore earlier this month. 

"We have been here in the city for 44 years. For 44 years we’ve paid property taxes, retail sales taxes, and we have employed people. It's just not safe. It's not safe for my employees or for me. It's not safe for anybody on this street that's a small business owner. We can’t afford armed security. The business just isn't there."

Rosoff provided the outlet with security footage from an attempted armed robbery of her store in March, when she was stacking shelves at 1 p.m. when a man entered the store and pulled a gun on her demanding merchandise.

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Jody Rosoff says she is closing her business after 40 years due to rising crime. (Fox 45 Baltimore)

"About five minutes into the conversation he pulls out a gun, and he says ‘I’ll take everything,’" Rosoff said.

Rosoff was ultimately able to retrieve her gun from behind the counter, and she shot the armed robber in the leg that led to a scuffle in the entryway of the store, where she was essentially fighting for her life. The struggle was caught on video, 

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Jody Rosoff inside Doc's Smoke Shop. (Jody Rosoff)

"I go back to the counter here, grabbed my gun, and turned around. He turned and came at me and I shot him," said Rosoff. "He came after me and we got into a scuffle."

Police later arrested a convicted felon, Jerome Owens, with a lengthy record spanning 25 years that includes several burglaries and robberies prompting Rosoff to point the finger at city leadership for soft on crime policies. 

"Shame on the mayor, shame on the judges, and the prosecutors and our former state’s attorney for letting this happen to Baltimore City," Rosoff said. 

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Jerome Owens is said to have a criminal history dating back 25 years. (Jody Rosoff)

Rosoff said she did not suffer any serious injuries in the attempted robbery, although she did require four staples for a gash in her head, but does not want to take any more chances and will be closing her business.

Rosoff told the outlet she was also disheartened by a recent incident roughly a mile away, where 23-year-old Fabian Alberto Sanchez Gonzalez, a T-Mobile store employee, was shot and killed by an armed robber.

"I’m sad for him. I'm sad for his family," Rosoff said, fighting back tears. "The PTSD that it's bringing back to me. It's crazy."

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"I would like to see Brandon Scott explain to the family of the 22-year-old why it happens," Rosoff said. "

"Why he allowed the City to get this bad? I would like [former Baltimore State's Attorney] Marilyn Mosby to explain to the family of the 22-year-old why these people are running rampant and feel that they have the right to rob and steal. I would love them to explain to the people of Baltimore why it's happening and not make political excuses."