ESCONDIDO, Calif. — A pair of masked men used a vehicle to ram their way into an Escondido jewelry store early Wednesday and looted the business.
The vehicular smash-and-grab heist in the 300 block of West Mission Avenue took place shortly after 1:30 a.m., according to the Escondido Police Department.
After breaking into the Jewelry and Repair Center by crashing into it with a white Volkswagen SUV, the thieves, one of them wielding an ax, broke into display cases, Lt. Bode Berreth said. The SUV is believed to have been stolen two days earlier in Oceanside.
They then stole an undisclosed amount of jewelry and cash before fleeing.
Detectives described the two suspects as Hispanic males, and said both wore masks to conceal their identities.
The first suspect was wearing a gray Nike sweatshirt and sweatpants. The second suspect was wearing a black sweatshirt and blue jeans.
“We are requesting the public to take a look at the video. If they can identify, if they know the people by the clothing, mannerisms, method of the crime, if they could report that to our agency, we’d really appreciate it,” said Lt. Berreth.
The Jewelry and Repair Center is a family-run business and they say they’ve been in the jewelry industry for two generations. Rosa Macedo, a family member, says seeing the damage to the store was heartbreaking.
“You just can’t put together how somebody can actually do something like this,” Macedo said.
Macedo says they’ve operated at this location for about a year and other businesses in the area have tried to comfort and help them in any way they could.
“The owner of the building came over and right away sent people over to help clean up and help repair, at least some of the damage. So, I think it’s a perfect example of the community coming together to help,” Macedo said.
It’s too soon to know just how much the damages will cost in this burglary, but they do plan to reopen as soon as possible
If you have any information about this incident, can call Det. Mike Martinez with the Escondido Police Dept. at 760-839-4739.
The family has also set up a GoFundMe account to help with the costs of re-opening the store.
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