ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) - Police released images Wednesday of a woman suspected of working with a group that stole cash and jewelry from two Escondido jewelry stores this week.
On March 19, police responded to reported burglaries at two unnamed Escondido jewelry stores. In both cases, police said as many as 10 people entered the stores at once. As the group distracted store workers, a woman “sneaks into the rear of the business, searching for loose gold and jewelry.”
Police believe the “organized, sophisticated and … structured” group may be linked to other burglaries throughout the region in which thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry were taken.
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Police said the group may be traveling in a silver minivan, possibly a Honda Odyssey.
Police did not immediately say if the Escondido heists were linked to a late February burglary of an El Cajon jewelry store. In the Feb. 28 incident at Forever Fine Jewelry, a group of nine people -- two of them carrying babies -- appeared to distract workers while a woman stole $200,000 worth of jewelry from the back of the business.
Anyone with information on the Escondido case is asked to contact Det. Mike Martinez at 760-839-4739. Anonymous tips can be left at 760-743-8477.
