News of the break-in at Love Jewels spread quickly among the owner’s family through alarming text messages.
Someone had broken into the shop over the weekend, the first worker to arrive told the others, and they’d broken into one of the safes.
But as relatives arrived at the business off Broadway and 5th Street in downtown Los Angeles on Monday morning, the scope of the loss was clear; millions of dollars in gold and jewels were gone and it was written all over the owner’s face.
“When I got here I could see my dad’s reaction — I could see that they got everything,” the store owner’s son told The Times on Wednesday.
On Sunday night, police say a group of determined thieves drilled, hammered and climbed through multiple walls in and around the old Roxie theater downtown and broke into Love Jewels, Reina de Oro, and stole an estimated $10 million in merchandise.
Video of the aftermath posted by the shop on social media showed the business’ office in complete disarray, with documents and debris covering the ground and the mangled shell of an emptied safe.
A handful of earrings and silver chains were all that remained there Wednesday.
“There is nothing left,” said the owner, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of his safety. The contents of the safes were the family’s life savings and were uninsured, he said.
LAPD investigators determined the heist began about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, but the family said the burglar crew could have begun cutting into adjacent properties earlier. It’s believed the burglars are professionals who spent hours inside the business. The modus operandi of the heist could help narrow the search of suspects.
According to the family, the business’ security alarm was deactivated and a Ring camera feed from the store cut out just before 10 p.m. Another security feed from the business was cut hours earlier, so the family said it’s hard to pin down when the break-in began.
The family is offering a $100,000 reward for the recovery of their merchandise and are operating online only for the time being, the owner said.
In the meantime, the FBI’s major theft task force has stepped in to assist with the investigation.
Security cameras from nearby businesses captured the burglars as they walked in and out of a vacant storefront. At one point, they dragged a trash can from a vehicle and appeared to be wearing construction gear, according to the family.
In security video of the break-in, a massive drill can be heard carving through the main castlelike wall, making a hole big enough for a person to slip through.
LAPD Capt. Raul Jovel, who oversees the department’s central division, said the thieves tunneled into the building from a vacant storefront.
“They went for some really thick old walls. They went into one small room and then through a second wall,” Jovel said. “This was serious digging.”
This wasn’t the first time burglars have made a run at Love Jewels.
About 13 years ago, a similar heist was foiled when the culprits were caught in the act, the owner said.
LAPD investigators say the recent burglars, after entering, cut the security camera feed, and there are no images of them inside the business. However, LAPD forensic experts are examining the scene for fingerprints and DNA.
The family believe there is more security footage from nearby businesses that show a suspect’s vehicle and ask anyone with more information to share with police. A GoFundMe was set up to help the family offset their costs and help them keep their business afloat.
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