ESCONDIDO: Serial jewelry thieves strike J.C. Penney

By SARAH GORDON - Staff Writer | Thursday, May 8, 2008 7:39 PM PDT ∞

It could have been a rehearsal for a Hollywood movie. Except it was real.

A trio of cat burglars, dressed in black gloves, black stocking hats and black masks, and carrying pliers, stole $100,000 worth of gold jewelry from an Escondido department store this week.

They had to work fast, because as soon as they busted through the back door of the J.C. Penney at the Westfield mall early Wednesday, the alarm sounded. Once inside, they headed straight for the cases with the fine jewels, broke the locks and tossed the best treasures into sacks.

It took them less than seven minutes. When police arrived, the crooks were gone.

It was all caught on surveillance cameras.

The Wednesday morning crime was the latest in a string of burglaries police say are related. Since December, there have been nine such burglaries, including one in Carlsbad on April 4, Escondido police Lt. Craig Carter said.

All but the Carlsbad heist have occurred at J.C. Penney stores. The company estimates it has lost $2 million from the burglaries and a related 2006 Palm Desert break-in, Carter said.

In the Carlsbad burglary, a pair of thieves dressed in almost identical clothing as the Escondido suspects, broke into the Sears at the Carlsbad Mall and took jewelry. Carter said detectives from both cities would compare surveillance video, but he felt sure the crimes were related.

Also on April 4, the same burglars appears to have struck an El Cajon J.C. Penney, he said.

At 2 a.m. Wednesday, police were notified that the store's alarm had been activated and an officer was immediately dispatched, Carter said. Meanwhile, the trio had entered through the store's rear emergency exit. Carter declined to say exactly how they breached the door.

With police en route, the thieves filled bags with jewelry, not indiscriminately, but choosing the most valuable pieces, Carter said.

"Once they get in, they go right to the high-end counter and break the locks on the jewelry cases," he said. "They know what they're doing, so they're confident."

By the time an officer arrived at 2:07 a.m., the thieves had vanished, Carter said. Detectives Thursday planned to examine outside surveillance video for a getaway car.

"In these cases, there's usually a lookout and a driver," Carter said. "We saw three, but that doesn't mean there's not four."

The April 4 Carlsbad break-in also was bold and quick. A pair of burglars smashed through the Sears store's locked glass front doors shortly before 6 a.m., Carlsbad police Lt. Matt Margo said. Seven frightened employees, in early for inventory, ran out the back door and called police.

Officers responded within a few minutes and searched the area without success. Carlsbad police did not disclose the loss in that burglary.

Each California heist was similar, with two to four suspects fully disguised, Carter said. J.C. Penney personnel told Escondido police that in December and January, the suspects hit four stores in Los Angeles and Orange Counties and two in the Bay Area. Carter said police had no suspects.

Company spokesman Tim Lyons said the company was deferring all comment to police.

J.C. Penney is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspects, Carter said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Escondido Police Department at (760) 839-4722.