Thousands in Jewels Stolen in Separate Heists
A briefcase containing $130,000 in diamonds was stolen Wednesday by three carjackers who stopped a jewelry courier in Westminster, police said.
The three stopped the rented Geo on Trask Avenue near Beach Boulevard at 2:13 p.m. and forced the driver out at gunpoint, taking the car and the briefcase, Sgt. Dave Stronach said.
The courier was moving the diamonds from Long Beach to the business district in Little Saigon, police said. Police suspect he was followed.
The car was recovered less than an hour later, three blocks from the scene. The courier was not injured, and the hijackers remained at large.
About the same time, three men robbed the owner of a jewelry store in Fullerton, escaping with several thousand dollars’ worth of stones and jewelry, police said.
The trio confronted the jeweler in the parking lot in front of Nick’s Jewelry in the 3300 block of Yorba Linda Boulevard, Fullerton Police Lt. Jeff Roop said. One of the men had a handgun and demanded the satchel of jewels, he said.
The men left in a gray or light blue Nissan Maxima with dark tinted windows. No arrests had been made late Wednesday.
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