$1 Million in Jewels Stolen From Pawn Shop

Burglars broke into a pawn shop early Wednesday by cutting through a wall from an adjacent clothing store and took more than $1 million in jewelry and another $30,000 in cash, police said.

The theft occurred between 1 and 9:30 a.m., when the owner of Winston’s Newport Jewelers in the 1700 block of Newport Boulevard arrived to find his shop ransacked and the safe empty. The burglars had disconnected the security system and cut the phone lines in the pawn shop and clothing store.

Diamonds, rubies and watches were stolen, in addition to about $30,000 in cash, said Kenneth Bernard, an attorney for the store’s owner, Glenn Verdult. The pawn shop, which specializes in jewelry, was not insured and the owner is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen property, said Kenneth Bernard, an attorney for the store owner.

The store’s alarm had sounded about 1 a.m., and a security employee was sent to the site, police said. The employee did not see anything suspicious, Bernard said.

“Maybe when he came by, it hadn’t occurred yet,” Police Lt. Jerry Holloway said.

Detectives have no suspects in the investigation.