Burglars Again Target Jewelry Cases at Mall : Crime: Merchandise is taken from a Sears days after a $65,000 loss is reported at a nearby business in Antelope Valley.

For the second time in less than a week, burglars have stolen thousands of dollars worth of jewelry after breaking windows and display cases at a store in the Antelope Valley Mall, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies.

Detectives said they had not yet determined whether the 3 a.m. Friday burglary at the Sears Roebuck and Co. store in the Palmdale mall was connected to a similar break-in Monday, when thieves smashed display cases and stole about $65,000 worth of merchandise from a jewelry store.

“I don’t know whether it’s a connection or a copy-cat burglary,” said Detective Charles Ingram of the Antelope Valley sheriff’s station.

Sears security chief George Cordero said the value of the jewelry stolen Friday had not yet been determined, but he said it appeared to be under $50,000. The burglar, or burglars, smashed the glass front doors with a sledgehammer, rifled display cases and took jewelry that included necklaces and rings, he said.

Deputies responding to the store alarm found the shattered doors and display cases but no suspects.

On Monday, maintenance men who heard a burglar alarm at Helzberg Jewelers saw two men inside the store and summoned help, but the men smashed display cases, took the jewelry and fled before deputies arrived.

The burglars in that case entered the mall through a door left open by a night maintenance crew working in the building, deputies said.

Sears has a private security force, as does the mall. As a result of the two burglaries, mall officials are examining security procedures, mall Manager Brian Pearson said.

“We’ll reassess how the lock-down goes at night,” he said. “We constantly look at the security of the building.”