ESCONDIDO, Calif. (CNS) – A pair of masked men used a vehicle to ram their way into an Escondido jewelry store early Wednesday and looted the business.
The vehicular smash-and-grab heist at Jewelry & Repair Center in the 300 block of West Mission Avenue took place shortly after 1:30 a.m., according to the Escondido Police Department.
After breaking into the shop by crashing into it with a white Volkswagen SUV believed to have been stolen two days earlier in Oceanside, the thieves, one of them wielding an ax, broke into display cases, Lt. Bode Berreth said.
They then stole an undisclosed amount of jewelry and cash before fleeing.
No detailed descriptions of the pair were available.
“Both (burglars) wore masks to conceal their identities,” Berreth said.
The owners’ daughter, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke with FOX 5 over the phone Thursday. She said her parents had a shop in an area nearby for about 20 years with no problem before moving to the current location.
“I just couldn’t believe it. I saw the video and I was like, ‘oh my gosh.’ They made a mess, they made a complete mess. So I thought I was mentally prepared for it. When I get there, it was just so heartbreaking.”
“Just when you thought things were starting to turn around they get hit with this and it’s just really tough, it’s really tough so I really hope that the public is able to help and we’re able to catch the people who did this,” she continued.
A GoFundMe account was set up to help the family.
Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact Detective Mike Martinez at 760-839-4739, by contacting the department’s anonymous tip line at 760-743-8477 or online at police.escondido.org.
FOX 5’s Jason Sloss contributed to this report.
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