Jewel thieves in daylight smash & grab

STACY MOORE

SAN Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello yesterday stated what most of the country probably knows already — criminals are becoming more desperate and more daring. He was commenting on a mid-morning robbery yesterday at a jewelry store on Upper High Street in San Fernando.

Police said the armed thieves who robbed the store were unmasked and came prepared with knapsacks to bag their loot. One walked with a hammer in order to smash the showcases in the store in order to reach the jewels on display.

At about 11 am, the three thieves entered RT Ltd and announced a hold-up. CCTV images which were uploaded to social media shows a guard who was standing at the entrance, being kicked to the floor by one of the bandits who then stood over him with his gun drawn.

Another then takes a hammer out of his bag and proceeds to smash the top of the showcases while clerks cower on the floor in fear and mainly female customers sit on the floor. The hammer bandit and his accomplice then proceed to remove several pieces of jewels from the showcases and place them in knapsacks.

In the footage, a clerk crawls over broken glass as she tries to reach a side room. The entire ordeal lasted less than a minute. The men then ran through Carlton Centre and onto St James Street. The store remained closed for the rest of the day. Regrello, later told Newsday: “A lot of young people are desperate and continue to break the law.” Regrello said.

Crime and criminality, he added, has their own peculiar fundamental dynamics. He said while government is working to combat all levels of crimes, store owners must also be very careful and vigilant in what they do and how they run their businessplaces. Regrello plans to meet with senior police to discuss how to treat with such situations, but said there would be an increase in police presence throughout High Street.

“There were two police officers on patrol this morning. There is only so much you can do. I have a depleted force right now,” the mayor said adding that there are only 23 officers in the San Fernando Municipal Police Force. Earlier this month thieves also staged an armed robbery at another jewelry store in a mall on High Street.