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10 months ago
21
Dim-witted burglars rammed their way into an LA jewelers in a spectacular smash and grab raid, only to find that most of the good stuff had been locked up for the night.
Eye-popping security footage catches the moment the masked gang sent a stolen SUV crashing through the front wall of JR's Diamonds and Jewelry in upmarket Sherman Oaks on Saturday night.
Metal grilles are sent flying and part of the ceiling caves in as the gang springs into the shop, vaults over furniture and start bashing their way into display cases with sledgehammers.
With the shop a wreck they realize their exertions have yielded little more than trinkets before retreating and abandoning the badly damaged SUV nearby.
'We have to redo the floors, redo the cabinets because they were smashed for no reason,' the store owner told ABC7.
'There was nothing in them.'
Security footage records the moment the front of the shop caves in as the stolen SUV is reversed at high speed through the shuttered window
Even empty cases prove a target for the thieves as they rampage through the store with sledge hammers in the search for loot
Jewel and the clown: The stolen SUV was later found abandoned after the thieves escaped largely empty-handed
More than 12,000 burglaries have been reported across the city so far this year, up 15 percent on the same period in 2021, while arrests for the crime have fallen nearly 14 percent.
Security footage last week caught the moment a burglar cut through the roof of a smoke shop in nearby Eagle Rock, and rappelled through the hole on a rope.
The owner of the store arrived the next morning to find cigarettes and lottery tickets stolen, and a rope dangling through the hole in his now badly damaged ceiling.
Sherman Oaks has also fallen victim to a wave of 'flash-mob' style attacks that have swept the city in recent months.
In August when a mob of masked bandits in hooded sweatshirts and dark clothing rampaged through Westfield Fashion Square, a mall that has more than 100 stores including big name retailers as Bloomingdales, Macy's, Apple, Banana Republic.
Days earlier around 30 thieves made off with $400,000 in branded merchandise from the YSL store at the Glendale Americana at Brand.
Robberies too are up on 2021 in the city where LA father Vince Ricci had his concealed carry license 'revoked' last week after he was attacked by two men at his $2million house.
The hooded attackers vaulted over cabinets and back out of the store leaving chaos behind
The store on the 15000 block of Ventura Boulevard has been in business for three generations
With his wife, five-month-old and the nanny inside Ricci reached for his gun and started a shootout when two armed men jumped his fence and tried to force their way into his house.
Police say they currently have no leads in connection with the raid on JR's Diamonds which took place at around 1.45am on Sunday morning.
Despite their lackluster haul, the gang managed to cause extensive damage to the shop which has been in business on the 15000 block of Ventura Boulevard for three generations.
'They just don't care, so it impacts us both financially and mentally,' said the owner.
English (US)