DETROIT – On most summer days you find 71-year-old Theodore Pickens on the front porch of his west side Detroit home. There's nothing unusual about it, but for him, being outside on Thursday meant so much more than it did just a few days ago.
"I'm just thankful I'm still living it could have been worse, I thank God I'm still here," said Pickens.
On Tuesday afternoon, the retired General Motors worker was on his porch. His grand children were playing in the front yard and suddenly a young man walks onto his porch and snatches Mr. Pickens' necklace from around his neck. The thief pulled out a gun and took a shot at Mr. Pickens before running away.
"All for a necklace they're going to try and take your life for some necklace that's what I can't understand," Pickens told Local 4.
And he's not the only one. Darissa Pearson lives a few doors down.
"Of course we're always going to keep a watchful eye out, but we're not going stop living, we're going to keep doing what we've been doing," said Pickens.
For Mr. Pickens, it wasn't just any gold chain medallion, it had sentimental value. He hopes the thief is caught. Had this happened years earlier the outcome could have been a whole lot different.
"I was trying to enjoy myself after retirement, not go through this drama. I'm too old for that, back in the day I would have shot him," said Pickens.
The jewelry is worth a little over $1,000. Pickens' has had it for decades. They were gifts from his late wife and two sons.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact police.