San Diego

A well-dressed thief stole more than $50,000 worth of rings from a La Jolla jewelry store Thursday after a clerk briefly turned her back on him, San Diego police said.

The thief, described as having a “very professional appearance,” entered the Collector, in the 1200 block of Propect Place, about 4 p.m., police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

Robinson said the man told the clerk he had recently inherited $475,000 from his parents and wanted to buy an expensive diamond ring. The clerk showed the man one ring and, as she briefly turned her back, he grabbed three more rings from a jewelry case and bolted for the door.

The clerk trapped the man behind the store’s glass door, but he freed himself and ran south on Coast Avenue with the woman in pursuit. The thief then jumped into a white pickup and escaped, Robinson said.

The man is described as white, 32 to 35 years old, 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds with a stocky build, short brown hair and a mustache. He wore a brown tweed sports jacket, a light-colored dress shirt, light-colored slacks and sunglasses.