A San Diego man who beat a 75-year-old owner of a small jewelry store with a hatchet after his credit card was declined will spend the next 14 years in state prison, a judge ruled Thursday.
Travis Kelley, 25, was sentenced to more than a decade behind bars for the violent attack that occurred at Hamlin’s Jewelry in El Cajon on Jan. 22, 2014. He pleaded guilty last month to attempted murder, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury.
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According to police, Kelley entered the business on a ruse to purchase jewelry. When his credit card -- which was stolen -- was declined, he became enraged and attacked the owner of the shop, Carl Hamlin, striking him multiple times on the head with a hatchet.
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After the blows, Hamlin fell behind the counter. He pulled out a small caliber handgun and pointed it at the suspect in self-defense. At that point, police said the pair began fighting again as Kelley tried to grab the victim’s gun.
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Police said Kelley was able to wrestle the gun away from Hamlin. The suspect then fled from the store on foot, with the victim’s gun, before officers could arrive.
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Kelley then got into a getaway car driven by an accomplice, Ali Armeen Toombs, 21.
Hamlin suffered multiple head injuries and was hospitalized for several days but survived the attack.
Kelley was arrested a few days later in Ocean Beach. Toombs was also taken into custody and pleaded guilty to robbery and burglary. He was sentenced to one year in jail with credit for time served.
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Prosecutor Gordon Paul Davis said the motivation for the brutal burglary was drugs, as both Kelley and Toombs were looking for a way to fuel a heroin habit.
He said Kelley went in and out of the jewelry store several times, striking Hamlin time after time, and making sure he had succeeded in hurting him.
"We charged him with a violent felony for each and every one of those assaults," said Davis.
The prosecutor called Hamlin "tough" and said the jewelry store owner is a man of integrity, adding, "He's a good guy."
