$400,000 in jewelry stolen from Jewelers Row store
CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- Police have released surveillance video of a $400,000 jewelry heist in Center City Philadelphia.
It happened Saturday February 13th, the day before Valentine's Day.
It was around 3 a.m. when two men broke into Barsky's Diamonds, located on the 700 block of Sansom Street.
The store's owner Jeffrey Barsky says it was a phone call he dreaded.
"We have been here a hundred years. So, it hurt us, doesn't kill us."
The criminals somehow manipulated the remote security gate, popped the lock to the door and made their way inside.
Once inside they broke the glass display cases, and took nearly half a million dollars worth of merchandise.
Upon arrival, police officers observed the front security gate was up and the front door of the business was opened.
Police say they were on a mission and knew exactly which cases they wanted to break into. Police are not ruling out an inside job.
Philadelphia Police Lt. John Stanford says, "Nothing is ruled out completely. That's something that central investigators will look into, and to see if there is possibly some connection. But again, we can clearly see that these individuals knew exactly what they were looking for, and went to some specific items."
Both suspects were wearing dark clothing and masks covering their faces. However, it appears one of the suspects forgot to cover his face as he walked near the store and cameras captured an image that could reveal his identity and lead to an arrest.
They were last seen running east on Sansom Street, and then possibly north on 7th Street.
Anyone who recognizes the suspects should contact Philadelphia Police at 215.686.TIPS (8477).
