Man shot by Market Common jewelry store employee during attempted armed robbery denied bond

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A Myrtle Beach judge denied bond Monday for a man who was shot by a Market Common jewelry store employee during an armed robbery attempt.

Michael James Alexander Perez, 33, allegedly entered the Jacob the Jeweler store on Hackler Street on Feb. 17 and said he needed their Rolexes before he was shot by a store employee, according to police.

Perez, who had been in the hospital since the robbery attempted and shooting, appeared via video from the Myrtle Beach Jail for his bond hearing on three charges of first-degree assault and battery, armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to online records.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to between 10 to 30 years on the armed robbery charge, not more than 10 years each for the three counts of assault and battery and five years for the weapons charge.

The victims in the case were not present in court, but did request a no-contact order, which was granted should Perez be released from custody.

Prosecutors asked the judge to deny bond in part because of Perez’s criminal record, which includes a fugitive from justice arrest and arrests on robbery and terroristic threat charges in Texas.

During the jewelry store incident, Perez allegedly dropped his gun after he was shot, according to a police report obtained by News13. He reportedly fired shots but missed.

Perez allegedly got on a motorcycle driven by someone else and was taken to South Strand Hospital before being transported by ambulance to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, according to the report.

The person who dropped him off left, according to the report. Police have not released any information on the person driving the motorcycle.

Surveillance video from a nearby business provided to News13 shows a man dressed in mostly black and appeared to be wearing at least one blue glove in the area. The video shows the man walking on the sidewalk with a motorcycle in the background.

The timestamp on the video is 3:42 p.m., which is about an hour before the event report says the call for the shooting was received.

Pictures from the surveillance cameras show the man getting onto the motorcycle.

Surveillance video from another business shows the man walk into the jewelry store at about 4:43 p.m. and about 20 seconds later, he runs out of the store.