SWFL Crime Stoppers looking for info on men casing jewelry stores

Authorities are searching for two men who appear to be working in tandem and are casing jewelry stores in Southwest Florida.

According to Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers, none of the stores have been broken into, but deputies say the men have been caught on surveillance messing with the power sources for stores in Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

Crime Stoppers said there had been several business burglaries in Central Florida over the past few months using the same tactics and these men may be associated with those burglaries.

The first incident was reported on Dec. 3 at Bradley’s Fine Jewelers at 14260 S. Tamiami Trail. Crime Stoppers said that shortly after 8 p.m., an unknown male went to the back of the business and began inspecting its power meters while appearing to be speaking to someone on the phone.

After employees left for the night, the man returned and shut off the power to the store, according to Crime Stoppers.

The next day on Dec. 4, an unidentified person shut off the breaker at Tio’s Jewelry at 110 NE 2nd Place in Cape Coral after the store was closed for the evening. No entry was made and surveillance images of the person were not captured, but they did capture a white sedan that the person was likely driving.

On Dec. 5, the man spotted at Bradley’s Fine Jewelers two days prior was soon on camera at Noe’s Jewelry at 4808 Cape Coral Street in downtown Cape Coral.

Surveillance captured the man looking at the circuit breakers. He spent a few minutes ad the breaker panel before leaving. He wore the same Adidas ball cap and Nike Air Maxx shoes that he had worn two nights before.

Then, on Dec. 7, a suspicious male was again observed at Noe’s Jewelry. The man pulled on the power breaker locks in the exact location as the man who was at the location previously. Crime Stoppers said he appeared to be on the phone the entire time he was casing the place.

Anyone with information on the identity of either of these males is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477) or by submitting a tip online at www.southwestfloridacrimestoppers.com or on the P3 Tips app. If your anonymous tip leads to an arrest or identification, we’ll pay a cash reward of up to $3,000.