Jewelry stolen from mall store

Deepa Bharath

Burglars got away with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of

jewelry early Sunday morning after they pried open a door to a

department store, smashed display cases and stole expensive rings,

necklaces and bracelets, Newport Beach police said.

Police responded to a burglar alarm that went off at Robinsons-May

at about 4:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sgt. Steve Shulman said.

“The suspects had already been at the store and had left with the

merchandise by the time the police arrived,” he said.

Officers got there within seven minutes of the alarm being

activated, Shulman said.

The burglars, who escaped with $500,000 to $600,000 worth of fine

jewelry, were caught on the store’s surveillance videotape, Shulman

said.

“They smashed several jewelry cases but couldn’t break them

because the glass was resistant,” he said.

The burglars, however, were able to remove the jewelry by prying

open the back of the cases, Shulman said.

The burglars were seen on camera wearing dark-color ski masks with

cut outs for the eyes and mouth, he said.

“We’ve seen two of them on camera,” Shulman said. “But that

doesn’t mean there weren’t more.”

They were also seen wearing dark-color sweatshirts and dark pants,

Shulman said.

“One of the suspects wore a hooded sweatshirt that had writing

stenciled on the front, but we haven’t determined what the exact

words were,” he said.

Shulman said the burglar alarm was routed through a monitoring

company.

“So the call goes to them first before it comes to us,” he said.

“Our response would have been much faster if the call had come to us

first.”

Ricky Lee, a salesman at Watch World International in Fashion

Island, said Sunday’s incident is a cause for concern.

“It makes me kind of nervous,” said Lee, who has worked at the

store for a year now. “You think security is really tight around

here. It feels kind of weird to hear that this happened.”

He said he had not heard about any incidents after the one in

January 2001 in which three masked men shot a security guard at

Traditional Jewelers after a foiled robbery attempt and a fierce gun

battle with officials.

Robinsons-May has announced a $10,000 reward for information

leading to the arrest and conviction of the robbers. Anyone with

information may contact the Newport Beach Police Department by phone

at (800) 550-6273 or by e-mail at [email protected].

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].