Police Looking For Men Behind Multiple Jewelry Store Robberies
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Police are investigating several jewelry store robberies throughout Miami-Dade County believed to be committed by the same thieves.
Several men, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department, are believed to be behind the robberies which happened between March and May. The thieves were caught on camera at two of the incidents—and police want help identifying them.
The most recent incident, on May 7, the men robbed approximately $250,000 in jewelry from a store at 3105 NW 79 Street. The thieves, police say, jumped over the counter, pushed employees to the ground, and removed the merchandise from the display cases.
"They were grabbing whatever they could take," shop owner Jacob Alishayv told CBS4's Natalia Zea.
The video shows Alishayv trying to fend off a young man as his buddies swipe everything in sight.
"He was gonna hit my so I grab his hand, and then I see the other guy was going to hit me also, so I just put myself down on the floor," said Alishayv.
CLICK HERE To Watch Natalia Zea's Report
A witness said the men, while a man waited with a high-powered rifle, entered two cars, a black Nissan Maxima and a black Nissan SUV. They fled northbound on NW 30 Avenue.
The first incident, on March 7, four male subjects approached a jewelry store booth at a flea market located at 7900 NW 27 Avenue. Police said the robbers approached the booth, two of the men jumped over the counter while one tackled an employee to the ground causing facial injuries. A fourth man acted as a lookout. They left with approximately $100,000 in jewelry.
Shop owner, Chris Shin told Zea the entire incident took about one minute but is costing him bigtime. He did not have insurance on the shop he has owned for 19 years.
"I'll be working this year and the next just to try to recover that," said Shin.
On March 26, four men robbed a jewelry store at 1205 NE 163 Street. The men jumped over the counter, broke the display cases and removed over $250,000 in jewelry, according to police.
The owner tried to swat them away as they made off with mostly diamond jewelry from a display case.
The owners tell Zea they want police to catch the robbers, to recover their merchandise and their peace of mind.
Shin explains, "It's a little sad I can't be as trusting as I used to be, now sometimes when someone walks up you don't know if that person's gonna try something with you."
Police are also investigating to see whether these three incidents in Miami-Dade County involve the same group of young men who robbed a jewelry store in Lauderhill last weekend. In that incident, the shop owner beat the men with a broomstick before they took off with the jewelry.
No one was arrested in that incident.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crimestoppersmiami.com and select "Give a Tip." You can also send a text message to 274637. Enter CSMD followed by the tip information and press send.