jewelry theft

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In Broad Daylight, Robbers Empty Jewelry Store in Minutes

Oakland's Phuong Jewelry loses up to 90% of its inventory

(Newser) - Six people dressed all in black carrying hammers and a gun robbed a jewelry store in Oakland, California, on Wednesday, making off with "nearly all the owner's life savings in a matter of minutes," NBC News reports. Diane Trinh, the 69-year old owner of Phuong Jewelry, one...

Stolen Jewelry Worth Up to $65K Popped Up on eBay for $50

Onyx piece taken from British Museum was listed on auction site in 2016; ex-curator is main suspect

(Newser) - Jewelry stolen over time from the British Museum—allegedly by a former staffer who'd worked there for decades—have been popping on eBay, with the person hawking the pieces trying to dump them for a tiny fraction of their value, reports the Telegraph . The precious items missing from the...

Retired Professor Charged With Stealing Jewels From the Rich

Lawrence Gray is accused of selling at least seven rare and valuable stolen items

(Newser) - A retired political science professor who traveled in Washington's elite social circles pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he stole tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry from his wealthy acquaintances. Lawrence Gray sold at least seven rare and valuable stolen items, including diamond earrings, a pink...

Cops: Mastermind of Jewel Heist Was the Store Owner

Australia's Michel Germani allegedly orchestrated January robbery for insurance money

(Newser) - The owner of Australian luxury jewelry company Germani Jewellery claims to have designed items for Saudi and British royalty, including Princess Diana. But his biggest claim came in January, when the 65-year-old reported suffering a $2.8 million armed heist at one of his Sydney stores. According to New South...

The Trial Begins, but the Jewels Are Still Missing

Six men are accused in the notorious 2019 'Green Vault' heist in Germany

(Newser) - Six men went on trial Friday in Germany over a spectacular theft of 18th-century treasures from Dresden’s Green Vault Museum in 2019, the AP reports. (Read about the wild heist details here .) The defendants, aged 23 to 28, appeared before a regional court in the eastern German city...

Story of Spectacular Heist Has Never Been Told Like This

'GQ' goes deep into the Green Vault heist

(Newser) - There's a good chance you heard about the Green Vault heist , a spectacular theft of jewels in Dresden, Germany, in 2019. But you definitely haven't heard about it like Joshua Hammer tells it. In a lengthy piece for GQ , he goes deep into the billion-dollar crime, the suspects,...

Man in Suit, Tie Carries Out 'Daring' Paris Jewel Heist

Suspect hit one of France's oldest jewelers

(Newser) - Jean-Claude Van Damme's first credited film role was a brief appearance in a movie about a jewel heist. Life seemed to imitate art Tuesday in Paris, where a jewel heist was carried out while would-be witnesses at an adjacent cafe happened to be distracted by Van Damme, who was...

Jewelry Thief's Tool of Choice: Fishing Rod

In the end, man made off with Versace necklace worth $800

(Newser) - A man managed to steal a Versace necklace from a high-end store in Australia without ever stepping foot inside. That's because the unknown assailant's tool of choice was a fishing rod. "It's quite bold … I've not seen someone use a fishing rod to commit...

How the Finest Jewel Thieves Got Taken Down—Twice
How Expert Jewel Thieves
Got Taken Down—Twice
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

How Expert Jewel Thieves Got Taken Down—Twice

A retired Florida police detective realized the men were back at it ... again

(Newser) - The crimes were nearly perfect: Over six years beginning in 2011, small-town jewelry stores in Florida, generally located in strip malls, were hit. Their alarm systems were taken out with an electronic jamming device, the stores were accessed by cutting a "door" through the wall of a neighboring store'...

NYC Cops: We Nabbed Elderly Man Wanted for Years

Cops say octogenarian Samuel Sabatino would break into luxury apartments over summer break

(Newser) - It was the "unassuming demeanor, simple clothes, and large glasses" that police say helped the elderly man pull off his heists: more than $400,000 in jewelry and watches allegedly taken from New York City apartments over the past five years. The New York Times reports Samuel Sabatino, variously...

NFL Star Is Missing $500K in Jewelry and 2 Girlfriends

Le'Veon Bell tells police women stole the loot while he was at the gym

(Newser) - New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell is missing an estimated $520,000 in jewelry, and he told police that "both of his girlfriends" are the culprits, according to the police report . Bell claims the women stole the jewelry from his South Florida home while he was at...

Thieves Mix in With Crowd After Stealing Famed Jewels

'Incomparable' collection was on display in Venice

(Newser) - Thieves stole precious Indian jewels from the famed Al Thani Collection that were on show in a Venetian palace Wednesday, making off with a brooch and a pair of earrings by mixing in with the crowd on the final day of the exhibition, police say. The stolen jewels were not...

Enterprising Car Prowler Pulls Off Huge Jewelry Heist

Someone stole $900K in jewelry out of a car in San Francisco

(Newser) - Police don't often ask for the public's help to solve a car break-in, but then most cars aren't carrying nearly $1 million in jewelry. The San Francisco Chronicle reports someone smashed the windows of a Cadillac Escalade parked in San Francisco on Aug. 12 and stole two...

Notorious Jewel Thief Caught Shoplifting in Walmart

Cops say Doris Payne's latest theft was worth $86.22

(Newser) - A notorious jewel thief with an illicit career spanning six decades has been caught stealing again, but she wasn't after sparkly gems this time, police near Atlanta say. Doris Payne, 86, was arrested at a Walmart store around 5pm Monday and charged with shoplifting $86.22 worth of merchandise,...

Alanis Victim of 2nd Multimillion-Dollar Theft

Thieves made off with $2M from LA home

(Newser) - More bad luck for Alanis Morissette: Police say burglars broke into the Canadian singer's Los Angeles home and stole a safe containing $2 million in jewelry, the Los Angeles Times reports. Morissette, her husband, and their two children weren't home at the time of the Feb. 9 break-in...

$6M in Jewelry Stolen in New Year's Eve Heist

While 7,000 police officers were blocks away in Times Square

(Newser) - While 7,000 police officers kept a watchful eye on revelers ringing in the new year in Times Square, three men pulled off a major jewelry heist just blocks away, WGO reports. According to USA Today , police say three men entered a Manhattan building around 10pm New Year's Eve....

'Granny Gem Thief' With 20 Arrests Adds Another

Doris Payne allegedly tried to steal $2K necklace in Atlanta

(Newser) - Her life of crime has involved more than 20 arrests on two continents over six decades—and, apparently, Doris Payne isn't done. The 86-year-old woman, dubbed the "granny gem thief," was arrested Tuesday at a mall in an Atlanta suburb where she's accused of trying to...

85-Year-Old: 'I Was a Thief. I'm Not Too Ashamed of It'

Jewelry pilferer Doris Payne opens up on longtime career

(Newser) - Doris Payne exudes an effortless elegance, her white hair neatly smoothed back and gold hoops dangling from her ears. She speaks calmly and deliberately, inspiring the kind of trust that would ease any jewelry store employee eager to make a high-dollar sale. And that's exactly how cops say the...

FBI Busts Woman, 24, in Jewelry-Robbing Spree

Abigail Lee Kemp suspected in robberies in 5 states

(Newser) - The string of jewelry-store robberies that spanned multiple states and involved the loss of millions of dollars' worth of diamonds and watches is now allegedly over, and a 24-year-old woman has been charged, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution . Abigail Lee Kemp was arrested Friday in Georgia and the FBI says...

Jewelry Thief's Crime Spree Spans 5 States

Woman and male accomplice have stolen $450K in bling: cops

(Newser) - A woman believed to be in her 20s or 30s held employees of a Jared Vault jewelry store in Mebane, NC, at gunpoint on Monday before making off with jewelry piled into a shopping bag. But this wasn't her first rodeo: The FBI says the same brunette has robbed...

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