Mary Divine, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. –
Three suspects who broke into Diamonds on Main in Stillwater are thought to be part of a major smash-and-grab ring operating in Minnesota.
The robbers broke through the store’s front door about 1 a.m. Tuesday, May 1, and smashed jewelry cases. The store is in the Valley Ridge Mall at 1314 W. Frontage Road.
Officials say similar “smash-and-grab” crimes have occurred at jewelry stores in Alexandria, Apple Valley, Buffalo, Cambridge, Farmington, Faribault, Hastings, Hutchinson and Wayzata. The suspects also are believed to have tried to break into a jewelry store in Eagan in April.
Two jewelry stores in Faribault were hit in April, said Interim Police Chief Don Gudmundson, former longtime Dakota County Sheriff. Douglas Diamonds was hit on April 14; Chappius Jewelry was hit on April 25.
“They were ‘smash-and-grabs,’ ” Gudmundson said. “They went in the front door, out the back. They were in for only about 70 seconds.”
In both instances, $10,000 to $15,000 worth of bracelets, watches, necklaces and other jewelry items were stolen, he said.
Stillwater officials would not say how much was taken from Diamonds on Main. Store officials on Tuesday were compiling a list of the stolen items, said Sgt. Jeff Stender of the Stillwater Police Department.
Surveillance video shows three suspects at the scene. “Their faces were covered, and they were wearing gloves,” Stender said. “It looked like they were wearing hooded sweatshirts â ¦ and masks.”
The suspects in Faribault used a yellow Stanley crowbar to smash the window of the front doors of the jewelry stores, Gudmundson said. While one suspect smashed the jewelry cases, two other suspects scooped the contents into black garbage bags, according to an account published in the Faribault Daily News.
“All three suspects are wearing baggy sweatshirts with the hoods pulled up, masks and yellow farm gloves,” the newspaper reported. “After one minute and 17 seconds inside, the three suspects walk to the back of the store and disappear.”
Gudmundson said he believes a fourth suspect is used to drive the getaway car.
A group of law enforcement officials met Tuesday in Eagan to discuss the crime spree. “We believe that they are tied together,” Gudmundson said.
Gudmundson said he would advise jewelry-store owners to make sure their alarm systems and video surveillance systems are up to date. “They should be extra cautious about working late at night,” he said. “Even stores in Wisconsin should be on alert.”
Gudmundson, who served as Dakota County sheriff from 1994 to 2010 and chief of the Lakeville Police Department from 1989 to 1994, said he is confident the suspects will be caught.
“You can’t go around and kick the Lord in the shin every day and expect to get away with it,” he said. “I remain confident that law enforcement, working cooperatively, will get them.”
