Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Police investigate jewelry heist

?Smash and grab? hits Barry Peterson Jewelers

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By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Mario Ornelas, left, and Charles Sample replace windows at Barry Peterson Jewelers on Sun Valley Road in Ketchum. The store was the scene of a ?smash and grab? jewelry heist early Wednesday, Nov. 22. Watching from inside the store is Shane Gilbert of Northern Intermountain Security. Photo by David N. Seelig

An unknown number of thieves made off with a "substantial amount" of jewelry last week by breaking three windows at Barry Peterson Jewelers in Ketchum, smashing display cases, grabbing the goods and fleeing.

"It was kind of like a smash-and-grab thing," said Ketchum Police Department spokeswoman Kim Rogers, in describing the heist that occurred early on Wednesday, Nov. 22.

Police declined to say how much the stolen goods are worth, but described them as a variety of display window pieces.

"A substantial amount of assorted jewelry was taken from the shop," said investigating officer Ken Martinez.

Shattered glass littered the sidewalks in front of the store on Sun Valley Road early Wednesday morning, as police officers investigated and gathered potential evidence. But the debris was quickly cleaned up and the broken windows replaced later that day.

The store remained closed Wednesday, but staff had things back in order for Friday's after-Thanksgiving Day shopping.

"It's definitely shocking," said store owner Barry Peterson. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."

Peterson explained that store window items were inside display cases made of shatterproof glass. He speculated that a heavy instrument such as a sledgehammer was used to break them.

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"It's your typical smash-and-grab robbery, which is popular with jewelry stores these days," he said. "It probably lasted about 60 seconds."

Rogers said investigators estimate that the heist took place sometime between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., but police didn't learn about it until about 6 a.m.

She said the store's alarm system is being checked out as part of the investigation.

She declined to say if police have any suspects, but asks anyone who might have seen suspicious activity near the store the morning of the heist to contact the Police Department.

Peterson said he's looking into new security procedures to help prevent a similar occurrence.

"I've been in business here for 34 years, and this is the first incident like this," he said. "My first thought was: This town isn't what it used to be."