Seven members of a burglary group suspected of hitting a Glendale jewelry store in May were caught while trying to break into a La Verne jewelry store over the weekend, police said.
An eighth suspect eluded capture.
Authorities believe the suspects, who are foreign nationals, were involved in similar crimes in the United States and their own countries, but didn’t say what countries they are from or release any details on other crimes.
A burglar or burglars cut a hole on the roof of Bidrussian Jewelry in the 1100 block of South Glendale Avenue in Glendale on May 27, ransacked the place and fled with an unknown amount of jewelry. A blowtorch was also used to open a safe.
Detectives developed leads identifying possible suspects, Glendale police said, adding investigators started surveillance on the group.
On Sunday night, investigators received information that the group was preparing to target Rodeo Jewelers at 1560 Foothill Blvd in La Verne, police said.
The suspects used signal jammers and cut wires to the location, police said. As they tried to gain entry through the roof, officers moved to arrest them.
Seven were caught, with help from police departments in La Verne, Claremont and Glendora, as well as deputies from the sheriff’s San Dimas station, authorities said.
Those arrested range in age from 20 to 33.
They were being held at Glendale Police jail without bail. The suspects are scheduled to appear Wednesday, July 2, at the Glendale Courthouse.
El Monte police said they are checking if the group is behind a recent burglary in their city where $1.5 million in jewelry was stolen from Meza’s Jewelry. The owner’s brothers discovered Sunday morning that both safes had been opened and most of the store’s inventory was gone.
Burglars cut a hole in the roof to enter the business at 10909 Main St. They used pneumatic tools to chisel the concrete and used a power safe to cut open a safe, El Monte Police Detective Joseph Trejo said.
They also took the store’s digital video recorder system, he said.
Glendale Police said their investigation is ongoing and asked anyone with information to call their Burglary Unit at 818-548-3127.
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