Thieves Break Car Window, Flee With $200,000 in Jewels

Jewels worth $200,000 were stolen from a car Wednesday when its owner stopped at a Northridge restaurant for coffee before going to a nearby jewelry show, police said.

No arrests were made after the 9 a.m. theft in the parking lot of Coco’s restaurant in the 19300 block of Plummer Street, Detective Wayne Newton said.

Police are investigating whether the theft was the work of a ring of Colombians believed responsible for $200 million in thefts last year in Los Angeles. The case has been assigned to a task force investigating the thefts, and Detective Michael Woodings said the technique used was similar to that used by the ring.

Ring members are known to follow jewelry salespeople and store owners for days waiting for the opportunity to take the valuables, often when they are left unattended in cars.

Police declined to identify the 29-year-old woman who was the victim of the theft. Woodings said she was planning to attend a jewelry show at a department store in the nearby Northridge Fashion Center and apparently was followed by the thieves.

The woman was carrying assorted jewels in a briefcase, which was on the floor of her car, police said.

The woman arrived in the area before the store opened and stopped for coffee at the restaurant. A few minutes later, she watched from the restaurant as a group of four men and a woman quickly broke out a window of her car, grabbed the briefcase and fled. The suspects have not been identified, police said.