A surveillance camera captured what appeared to be a typical greeting between a customer and a jewelry store employee. But it turned out to be the start of a watch theft worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A man reportedly walked into the Jewelers On Time store in Newport Beach, California on Friday, September 8, and shortly after asked to see an expensive Rolex watch. Kenny Nguyen claimed he told the customer he needed to see his ID to show him the watch.
“He said, ‘Oh, I left my ID in the car.’ “I’m going to get her,” Nguyen said. “So I rang the doorbell for him to open it and come out. “When I did that, three people ran in and as they came in I ran back to hit the silent alarm button and three people came in and out in less than 20 seconds,” he added.
Several thieves used a car to rob a jewelry store in La Verne.
Immediately after the man opened the security door, three people wearing hoodies dressed head to toe in black burst into the store, he said. They smashed glass display cases and loaded goods into bags, he added.
The masked thieves reportedly stole nearly two dozen watches worth about $250,000.
The store’s owner, Alberto Frosio, said other stores in the area had been targeted by thieves.
“We have three or four friends of ours, jewelers, who were attacked in this area,” Frosio said.
As of Friday morning, no arrests had been reported in the robbery.
