THOUSAND OAKS : 4 Arrested After Jewelry Store Heist

Four men were arrested on suspicion of robbing a Thousand Oaks jewelry store at gunpoint and tying up the owner, authorities said Sunday.

The suspects, who are being held at Ventura County Jail on $1-million bail each, were caught minutes after the Saturday robbery because the owner of Milano Jewelers managed to press a silent alarm before they left the store, Ventura County Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Montijo said.

About 2:35 p.m., four men armed with two handguns entered the store at 1772 E. Avenida de los Arboles and held up the owner, who was alone, Montijo said.

The owner was hit on the head, but he managed to reach the alarm button before the robbers tied him up and grabbed $183,000 worth of jewelry, Montijo said. The owner did not suffer any serious injury.

The suspects were still in the area when the deputies arrived. “One cop was right around the corner,” Montijo said.

“We got a lot of help from people on this one,” he added, noting that about half a dozen witnesses helped point deputies in the direction of the fleeing suspects.

One suspect was caught after a short foot chase, and the three others were arrested at gunpoint two blocks from the store, Montijo said. All of the jewelry was recovered.

“Chalk up one for the good guys,” Sgt. Ray Nagel said. “Usually you get the alarm after the guys are in the next county.”

The suspects are of Armenian descent and speak very little English, Nagel said. Authorities on Saturday initially thought that they were Russian, and were searching for a Russian interpreter. After several hours of searching, an Armenian interpreter was found, Nagel said.

The suspects arrested on suspicion of robbery were: Albert Ambartsumyan, 51, of Panorama City; Sereja Chakhbazian, 27, of Hollywood; Vage Bekaryan, 42, of Los Angeles, and Varug Khachaturian, 26. They are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.