NEW YORK — A group of brazen jewel thieves involved in a string of robberies across New York City smashed the front window of a Bronx jewelry store with a sledgehammer before fleeing with the stolen loot. The robbery was captured on surveillance video.
In the footage, a man swinging a sledgehammer smashes a hole in the storefront’s glass window, then he and another man grab as much jewelry as they can before the metal shutter gate lowers.
The burglars made off with ten gold chains and five gold pendants worth approximately $20,000 before fleeing in a black BMW 5-series four-door vehicle, according to police.
Then on Monday, six thieves struck Dorian’s Jewelry on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park at around 3pm, according to police. The attackers smashed the store’s front glass with sledgehammers and a pickax, then made off with another $180,000 in gold jewelry, authorities said.
They made their getaway in a black Honda Accord and a BMW car similar to the one used in the robbery on Pelham Parkway.
These jewelry store robberies are among 18 that have occurred in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens since February 25, and may be the work of the same crew. They leave the scene in a black BMW and in some cases, a blue four-door sedan is also involved, investigators said.
The suspects are described as men in their 20s and 30s. According to the NYPD, they have stolen approximately $250,000 in jewelry thus far.
Anyone with information about these robberies is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477).