The moment that a Beverly Hills jewelry shop lost over a million dollars in merchandise during a smash and grab robbery on Tuesday afternoon was captured by cameras.
It happened at around 2:20 p.m. at Luxury Jewels Beverly Hills, corner South Beverly Drive und Charleville Boulevard.
The authorities claimed that five people arrived with a stolen vehicle, and then they left the car, escaping in an unknown vehicle.
The video shows a group five people, who are armed with what police believe to be sledgehammers. They obliterated the store’s front window. The group then ran off, grabbing several items.
The crooks were often seen in sweatshirts or sweatpants with hoods. Others were also wearing surgical masks.
Glass covered the street below, and there was a large hole in the store’s front window.
Beverly Hills jewelry store was attacked by smash-and grab robbers on Tuesday. They remain at large
The video shows a group five people, who are allegedly using sledgehammers to smash the storefront window.
Glass covered the street below, and there was a large hole in the store’s front window.
Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills at the corner of South Beverly Drive & Charleville Boulevard
Peter Sedghi, the store’s owner, told ABC7LA that the merchandise taken was valued between $3-5million, with one necklace alone worth nearly $500,000.
Sedghi said that he believed he heard gunshots, and went outside to get his gun.
“It literally sounded gunshots so I informed my staff and yelled, “everyone down,'” Sedghi stated.
Sedghi, a manager at the store, pressed the panic button. Employees then waited for the sound to stop before going outside.
Wesley Aframian owns a neighboring business. He told reporters that he tried stopping the suspect from fleeing.
Aframian said, “I look out, I see five men with sledgehammers and axes and hammers banging on the windows.” They’re jewelry stores, and we know that. They are good friends of mine. They are very nice people. They were very good people. I just react and tried to stop them.
The man did mention that he got a kick on one of these robbers, and was able grab the watches that they tried to take back.
California has seen a rise in larceny, which is now widespread across the state. It started from San Francisco and continues to spread down the coast.
As they attempted to rob the jewel store, one of the robbers clearly was using a sledgehammer.
According to store owners, the robbers were able to get away with anywhere from $3 million to $5million worth of merchandise.
Beverly Hills Robbery: Jewelry Store Owners Clean Up. Five men were at large who broke the glass with sledgehammers and a double-tempered glass.
Peter Sedghi, the owner of Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills (left), describes the extent of the damage that was done to his store
They stole an SUV in Long Beach, then fled in another car. One was knocked to the ground. Some of the stolen goods were also recovered.
Wesley Aframian of the neighboring shop claimed that he was capable to retrieve a few watches from the thieves while trying to stop them
Gangs of criminals are committing brazen smash and grab robberies against high-end retailers like Louis Vuitton or Burberry as well national chains like Walgreens or CVS.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Walgreens reported last year that the average retail theft rate in San Francisco was five-times higher than the average chain and that security costs average 46 percent.
Based on the most recent crime data available, California’s liberal bastion had a 19 percent increase in grand larceny rates between February and last year.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is a Democrat. He has pledged to take action against gangs and retail thieves despite Proposition 47, a 2014 controversial law that prohibited prosecutors from charging shoplifters with felonies for stealing merchandise worth less than $950.
According to city statistics, crime in Los Angeles is now up by around eight percent over last year. The number of robberies has increased by four percent.