Surveillance image of one of three thieves who broke into a jewelry store in Hobart, Ind., and filled buckets with jewelry from the display cases. (Credit: Hobart Police)
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HOBART, Ind. (CBS) — Police in Northwest Indiana say a jewelry store thief may have left something behind that could lead police to capture him and his accomplices.
As WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports, three men broke into the Helzberg Diamond store at 2871 E. 81st Ave. in Hobart, Ind., on Feb. 26, and police tell the Northwest Indiana Times that at least one of them left drops of blood behind.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports
The blood has been tested by the Indiana State Police Crime Lab for possible DNA matches to known criminals, the newspaper reported.
Security video shows that the thieves entered and exited the store within two minutes. But since all the high-end jewelry was locked in a safe that the thieves made no attempt at cracking, they instead made off with items such as watches and silver jewelry.
They used hammers to smash covers on the jewelry cases. One used a mule kick to finish the job.
Then, the suspects began to sweep jewelry into large plastic buckets, first from the front of the counter, then from the back. Afterward, they hopped into a van and sped away.
Police believe the thieves may be from Chicago, the Northwest Indiana Times reported.
This is not the first time the Hobart Helzberg diamond store has been held up. Back on Oct. 26, 2004, three men from Rockford and a fourth from Niles held up the same store in broad daylight, reportedly at gunpoint.
JCK Magazine reported at the time that the robbers took employees to a back room, made them lie on their abdomens, and restrained them with the same kind of plastic strips that are used as disposable handcuffs by police in riot situations. Police apprehended the robbers acting on a tip from an anonymous caller who had heard about the robbery on the news, JCK Magazine reported.
