Thieves Make Off With Over $100,000 Worth Of Jewelry At Perth Amboy Store
PERTH AMBOY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A Middlesex County, New Jersey jewelry store has multiple layers of security, but that did not stop a pair of burglars.
As CBS2's Meg Baker reported, surveillance video caught the offenders in the act at Ruby's Jeweler in Perth Amboy. The brazen thieves did not even bother to cover their faces before breaking in.
Their actions early this past Saturday morning were caught on multiple cameras.
"We left silver here, and we left also diamond pieces, which is rings and earrings and stuff like that – and they took them all," said owner Sam Hamade.
Hamade has owned his business on Smith Street in Perth Amboy for 24 years.
"We are barely surviving these days," he said.
It was the third robbery at his store in eight years, and this time, Hamade took a big hit.
"In retail, over $100,000," he said.
In surveillance video from Saturday around 4 a.m., one suspect appears wearing a knit cap and has a beard, while the other is bald.
"They pushed the showcases down; also, they broke this one," Hamade said, showing the damaged showcase.
Police have launched an all-out investigation.
"We have detectives canvassing area also today to get additional video," said Perth Amboy Deputy Chief of Police Larry Cattano.
The burglars got in first by breaking into the electric box that controls the metal security gate.
The thieves then threw a brick through the front door and were able to crawl in setting off the alarm.
"Officers arrived within one minute of being dispatched and they found the front door smashed," Cattano said. "They secured a perimeter."
And in less than a minute, the robbers made off with a small fortune. Police on Monday were asking for help in identifying them.
"If this happened to us, I don't want it to happen to somebody else," added Hamade.
Hamade said it will take him years to make up for the jewelry lost and the damage to his store and the robbery.