THOUSAND OAKS : Four Men Rob Mall Jewelry Store

Four men robbed a Bailey Banks & Biddle jewelry store in The Oaks Mall Wednesday, ordering four employees to the back of the store at gunpoint and smashing two glass cases of jewelry with a hammer, authorities said.

Lt. Kelly McIlvain of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said authorities continued to search for the four suspects who escaped with an undisclosed amount of merchandise. The robbery was the second time the store has been targeted in six months.

McIlvain said witnesses saw four men between the ages of 18 and 20 enter the store at 2:20 p.m. They took jewelry from two display cases but did not rob the cash register, he said. One of the men apparently was cut by broken glass during the robbery, which took about three minutes, McIlvain said.

Sheriff’s deputies found an older model black Cadillac abandoned a few blocks from the mall. They found a hammer and broken glass inside the car. The car was reported stolen from Los Angeles.

A helicopter aided in the search, but the suspects were not found.

In December, Bailey Banks & Biddle was robbed of $25,000 worth of watches and other jewelry. In that incident, three men reportedly ordered an employee at gunpoint to empty the jewelry cases.