Austin, TX– Video captured a group of alleged thieves fleeing a Texas outlet following a jewelry heist that one expert called “mob-style.” Click HERE to view video and related article provided by Fox News.
On Tuesday at around 12:47 p.m., officers responded to a report of a robbery in progress at Marc Robinson Jewelers at the Round Rock Premium Outlets, an outdoor shopping mall near Austin, police said.
Store employees told police that a group of suspects entered the jewelry store wielding hammers and began breaking glass display cases and stealing jewelry.
Employees told police that the group of thieves used pepper spray on an employee and a bystander before fleeing with a “large amount of stolen jewelry.”
Video obtained by FOX 7 captured the group fleeing the store in the aftermath of the attack.
All suspects were seen wearing masks and gloves as they fled the scene.
Police located the vehicle, a blue Hyundai Sonata, the suspects were described as fleeing in, at a nearby apartment complex.
The vehicle, police said, was stolen out of the Humble, Texas, area. The recovered vehicle was taken for processing, and the case remains active.
International Crime Free Association Executive Director Timothy Zehring told FOX 7 that this was “mob-style execution.”
“The modus operandi that the FBI and the Jewelers Security Alliance talk about, first, is the mob-style execution of these crimes. You’re generally looking at between 10 and 30 masked suspects that charge into the store, sometimes with weapons, but there are massive losses in under 60 seconds,” he said. “The price of gold has skyrocketed lately and so these crimes are very lucrative.”
Zehring said these crimes are preventable by implementing a layered security approach.
“Bollards are a great way to prevent people from smashing in. The next thing is shatter-resistant glass and film that you can put over glass even if you don’t replace the glass. Think of window tinting on your car. If they put this film on the glass, even if the glass breaks, it holds intact so they can’t get in,” Zehring said.
If you have any information regarding this incident or information on these criminals, please contact the Jewelers’ Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.