Thieves Make Off With $250,000 Worth Of Jewelry In Brazen Theft In Paramus
PARAMUS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Thieves made off with $250,000 worth of loot, when they used a stolen pickup to smash into a jewelry store in Paramus, N.J., Friday morning.
Around 6 a.m. Friday, the thieves were caught on security video ramming a Ford F-350 pickup through the side glass doors of The Jewelry Center, which is billed as the nation's largest jewelry retailer with more than 40 independent merchants.
As WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported, Joseph A.S., owner of The Jewelry Center, said he knew exactly what the thieves were seeking. They were after a safe with the $250,000 of jewels inside.
"They're very professional. I would watch the camera, the camera is like showing almost two minutes, everything was done and they were gone," Joseph A.S. said.
Police said the thieves attached a steel cable to the safe full of jewels and yanked it out. A stolen backhoe was waiting to load the safe into another vehicle.
Michelle Gandera manages the booth where the safe was stolen.
"In shock," she said. "You don't know what you do. You don't know what to say. It's very overwhelming."
Gandera said there were many plows in the area at the time, and she does not believe the backhoe aroused suspicion.
"We're on Route 4," she said. "We're not, like, on a back street in a little town. We're like, you know, the main highway."
Anyone with information was asked to call Paramus police.
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