Garden Grove : Robber Takes $30,000 Worth of Diamond Rings

An armed man took 44 gold and diamond rings, worth an estimated $30,000, from a Mervyn’s department store, police said Tuesday.

The robber apparently managed to stuff the jewelry into his pants pockets without attracting the attention of store guards by demanding that the 19-year-old clerk hand him each item from the display counter separately, Police Sgt. Bruce Beauchamp said. He said the rings were priced from $175 to $1,500.

The man entered the store, at 13092 Harbor Blvd., about 8:30 p.m. Monday and approached the jewelry counter in the center of the floor, Beauchamp said. When the clerk offered to help him, he asked to see one ring, inspected it and handed it back, Beauchamp said.

But as she put the ring away, the man said, “Look at this,” and pointed to a handgun tucked into his waistband beneath his shirt, police said.

After methodically placing all 44 rings in the display case in his pockets, one at a time, the man ordered the clerk to lie on the floor while he ran out of the store, Beauchamp said.

No getaway car was seen.

Beauchamp said the robber was described as being in his late 20s, about 5 feet 9 and 160 pounds, with short, brown hair and a thick moustache. He was wearing a red, white and blue untucked shirt, blue jeans and a red-and-white baseball cap, Beauchamp said.