Los Angeles, CA- The owners of an El Monte jewelry store say that a group of burglars stole more than a million in gold and diamonds from their business overnight.
Instead of selling jewelry as planned on Sunday, Rosanna Meza and her family are now sifting through the aftermath of the burglary.
“It was our life … and our dreams,” Meza said. “They took everything from us.”
She says that the crew cut through the roof of their store, Meza’s Jewelry on Main Street, using power tools to crack open their safes before taking off with more than $1.5 million in product, including diamond rings and solid gold chains.
“My brother called me, I was at my house still, and he called me and when he told me … everything went blank,” Meza said.
The crew also cut off the store’s security alarms, taking them with them when they fled from the store. She says that it’s not the first time they were targeted by burglars, referencing a 2023 smash-and-grab robbery in which store employees fought back against a suspect.
This time though, she said things were different.
“These were professionals,” she said. “They cut the internet, the security alarm, the cameras. We don’t have anything.”
This is the latest in a series of complex burglaries at Los Angeles County jewelry stores.
Earlier in June, a crew used a blowtorch to cut through the wall of Encino Jewelry Mart, where five different jewelers work. In May, two different groups burglarized stores in Glendale and Simi Valley by cutting through the roof to gain entry.
Meza said that they have filed a report with the El Monte Police Department, but they’re unsure when they can reopen as they work to repair the damage and count their losses.
To view the article provided by CBS news, click here.
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.