Burglars steal $40,000 worth of jewelry from suburban Chicago store
CALUMET CITY, Ill. (CBS) -- A south suburban jewelry store yet again had to beef up its security after being one of many victims of the latest crash and grab burglaries earlier this month.
Yellow pillars were just one layer of security the owners of the Calumet City store have added. They also added a brand new security door and were installing more camera on Tuesday.
Surveillance video captured the moment on Aug. 16 when a car smashed through Dream Jewelers before four masked thieves grabbed what they could from inside. While almost all of the cases were empty, the owners of the store said they got away with about $40,000 worth of jewelry.
The damage to the shop itself was estimated at over $50,000.
It wasn't the first time that Dream Jewelers had to rebuild. During the civil unrest in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, the store was one of many looted in Calumet City area.
"It's hard because we know that there's always a risk," said Joanna DeJesus, the owner of Dream Jewelers. "No matter how much you secure the exterior, the interior, there's always the next latest trend of armed robbery."
DeJesus said the crash made it so the store's vestibule and front of the store including windows, a door, and all showcases in the front were "completely gone."
"Nobody could repay us the days that we're closed," she said. "Nobody could repay us for our employees that had to lose time off. You know, we have to provide for our families. We're minority-owned and so we have bills just like everybody else."
The owners of the store said police amped up patrols in their area and they were working to hire armed security.
The burglars had not been caught as of late Tuesday. Police told the owners they believe the same crew hit another store earlier that night.