UPDATE, 9:25 p.m.:
Prospects are good for “successfully wrapping up” the investigation into Wednesday’s burglary of a downtown jewelry store, Police Chief Jeremiah Marron Jr. told the Police Commission on Thursday.
“So, detectives have a good start with this investigation, and through networking and information that we already had, I think, we’re on our way to successfully wrapping up that case, even though it just started,” Marron said.
Four masked thieves broke through a glass door at David Harvey Jewelers sometime before 4:32 a.m., Wednesday, a police announcement said. When they left with their loot, jewelry was scattered on the store floor and outside, on the sidewalk, police said.
Police are hoping to “develop a little bit more information from the public,” he said. Police have asked that anyone with information about the burglary call the Police Detective Division at 203-662-5330.
The same four burglars are suspected of breaking into a jewelry store in Fairfield earlier that morning, Darien Police Capt. Alison Hudyma told the commission. She also said the value of the stolen items from the Darien jewelry store had not been determined as of the time of the commission’s 4 p.m. meeting on Thursday.
“We have seen a big rise in jewelry store burglaries, and in some cases robberies in the area,” Marron said. “I think within the last week, Trumbull Mall, Fairfield, Westport, Darien, Greenwich — they’re all being targeted for the high-end pieces of jewelry.
“A lot of it’s been [taking place] overnight. On a couple of occasions it’s been when the stores are open, and, of course, the employees and the owners are directed to just let happen what’s going to happen, don’t get involved. We don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but unfortunately, I think that’s leading to more incidents of this nature.”
Here’s the Darien TV79 video of the meeting. Hudyma’s report about the robbery starts at the 7:30 mark in the video, and Marron’s comments begin at the 8:32 mark. Each spoke briefly.
Darien Police Commission 5-16-2024 from Darien TV79 on Vimeo.
Original story:
Police: Thieves Smash Glass Door, Glass Cases at Jewelry Store, Turning Merchandise into Loot [with Video]
Four masked thieves with a large plastic trash barrel broke through a glass door at David Harvey Jewelers sometime before 4:32 a.m., Wednesday, and when they left with their loot, jewelry was scattered on the store floor and outside, on the sidewalk, police said.
Anyone who may have information about the burglary is asked to contact police.
Darien police gave this further account of the incident:
Officers arrived by 4:32 a.m., Wednesday, May 15 at the downtown store at 995 Post Road, where they found the smashed glass and the strewn jewelry. “Numerous” glass display cases had been smashed.
Video surveillance recordings showed four suspects, all wearing masks and gloves, enter through the front door that one of them smashed open with a sledgehammer. They can be seen hauling in the plastic trash container.
Image from surveillance video via Darien P.D.
The first burglar smashed the door window with a ,,,,, then with the plastic trash can and carried the can in. Three other burglars followed. After smashing glass cases in the store, they grabbed jewelry and dumped it in the trash can.
Police said they aren’t releasing any further details about the incident at this time, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information about this burglary is urged to contact the Darien Police Detective Division at 203-662-5330.
The top video below (from a store surveillance camera) shows the thieves breaking into the store:
The second video shows the thieves smashing glass cases to get at the jewelry, then dumping it into the plastic trash can.