A criminal swiped at least $300,000 worth of jewelry at Provident Jewelry Monday.
“This is the most damage, so you can see how they just kind of popped in and popped the locks,” said Aaron Steinberg, manager of Provident Jewelry. “What was left out they got a good part of it was definitely an excess of $1 million.”
Steinberg said his employees showed up Monday morning to find the power shut off.
The hurricane-proof window was shattered – likely the entry point – and the entire business looked to be “ransacked.”
Estimates of missing jewelry range between $300,000 to $1 million, according to Lee County Sheriff’s Office. But, the thieves did not enter the safe.
“To come in and see that and feel that having the police come and investigate just very heartbreaking to go through that,” Steinberg said.
At a separate incident, the owner of Tio’s Jewelers in Cape Coral said he is thankful his business was left untouched after he caught a suspect in a video over the weekend.
Brand new surveillance images show a man, walk around the back of the northeast Cape Coral jewelry story, then appears to shut off the store’s breaker.
The jewelry store’s owner said an alarm alerted him to the loss of power and he turned it back on the next day.
The big question now: are these power-cutting burglars connected?
It was a move like that detectives believe helped these burglars steal handfuls of jewelry from Provident Jewelry.
“This is even speaking with the insurance company,” Steinberg said. “This is a pretty unique way of someone breaking in.”
