A well-organized burglary crew of at least four people escaped with an estimated $1.5 million in gold and diamonds after breaching the roof of a family-owned jewelry store in El Monte.
Thieves were able to get on the roof and come down through the ceiling Saturday night at Meza’s Jewelry on Main Street before getting their hands on everything they could and leaving through the door with a suitcase full of precious valuables.
It was Rossanna Meza, a co-owner of the store, who later made the discovery.
“I saw everything was taken, everything was gone,” she told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell. “It’s all our savings, our whole life right there. We’ve been working so hard and all of a sudden, we have nothing.”
The shop’s owners have been targeted by thieves before.
In September 2023, surveillance cameras captured a violent struggle between family members and an attempted smash-and-grab suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Joshua Lee Simons.
Wild footage shows the entire family violently wrestling with the large man after he sprayed bear repellent in the face of a 70-year-old family member and then attempted to smash a display case. Ultimately, the suspect was seen running away empty-handed, shirtless and trying to keep his pants up.
The latest burglary, likely performed by professional thieves, comes on the heels of two other high-value heists.
Millions of dollars worth of merchandise was taken from Afghan Lapis Jewelry in Encino during a break-in on June 1 that involved thieves using a blow torch during the job. In late May, 5 Star Jewelry & Watch Repair in Simi Valley lost everything after a burglary crew got into the shop after breaching the roof of an adjacent business and drilling through the adjoining wall. At around the same time, Bidrussian Jewelry in Glendale suffered a similar fate.
In each of the burglaries, police said the thieves were armed with sophisticated gear like blow torches, power tools and electronic devices used to jam security systems.
“They were prepared. They also had tools and things to confuse the alarms,” Rossanna said of the break-in at Meza’s on Saturday night. “They were professionals. They know what they are doing.”
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