Sheriff’s detectives on Thursday arrested one person in a group of suspects accused of carrying out two smash-and-grab robberies several weeks apart at the same south Sacramento jewelry store.
The Sheriff’s Office said about $280,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from the retailer in the two robberies after the men smashed glass display cases as customers and employees hid in a back room.
The suspect arrested was a 19-year-old Stockton man taken into custody Thursday at a San Joaquin County home east of Stockton, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release.
Detectives searched two San Joaquin County homes, where they found evidence related to the robberies, deputies said. The Sheriff’s Office did not include the name of the jewelry store or its location in the news release.
The jewelry heists match two robberies in December and February at a jewelry store in the 6100 block of Florin Road reported on the Sheriff’s Office’s publicly available crime map.
The first smash-and-grab robbery occurred Dec. 24 at the jewelry store, according to the news release. Seven men reportedly entered the jewelry store with hammers and other blunt objects during business hours while customers and employees were inside.
Sheriff’s officials said the suspects “swarmed” the store and started breaking the display cases with the objects, along with their hands and feet. The suspects reportedly stole about $250,000 worth of jewelry.
“The customers and employees feared for their safety and hid in a back room,” deputies said in the news release.
The second smash-and-grab robbery occurred Feb. 13 when two men ransacked the jewelry store during business hours. Sheriff’s officials said the suspects smashed display cases while the customers and employees — worried about their safety — hid in a back room. The suspects reportedly stole about $30,000 worth of jewelry.
Detectives later determined the same group of suspects carried out the two robberies. The Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released security camera video of the jewelry store robberies.
Detectives still investigating these jewelry store robberies asked anyone with relevant information to call the Sheriff’s Office at 916-874-5115 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at 916-443-4357.