Jewelry store smash-and-grab with one man posing as security guard — Radnor, PA

Police say a group of men, including one dressed as a security guard, rushed into a jewelry store near the Blue Route in Radnor, to commit a smash-and-grab jewel heist Wednesday evening.

“At about 6:40 an individual, we believe to be an African-American male wearing a blue jacket that had security written in yellow letters, knocked on the door. One of the employees buzzed the door to allow this individual in. Once the door was opened approximately five males including the male with the security jacket rushed into the store. A couple of the males were brandishing handguns. They immediately proceeded over to a jewelry case where they performed a smash-and-grab robbery,” Radnor police Supt. Bill Colarulo said at a press conference Thursday.

Security camera footage shows the employee opening the door and letting the first man inside as the others then rushed in behind him.

“Obviously, the clerk at the store felt that it was a person that worked at some kind of security industry so he felt comfortable enough to buzz him in. Once he did, the employees were bum-rushed by at least five individuals armed with handguns,” Colarulo said as he narrated the security camera footage.

The men had claw hammers and repeatedly smashed one particular case filled with jewelry and proceeded to steal an undetermined amount of jewelry, police said.

Within three or four minutes the men were out of the store. The blue security jacket worn by one of the suspects was recovered about 50 feet from the store. That jacket has since been submitted to a crime lab by the lead detective in the case, Shawn C. Dietrich.

“As they made their entrance, the other males … had their faces partially covered,” Colarulo said. He added that they were also wearing gloves.

Police are asking for any information about the robbery.

“We’re asking for the public’s help regarding the capture of these individuals,” Colarulo said. Colarulo added that the owner of the store has put up a $5,000 reward for the capture and conviction of those responsible for the robbery. The reward is being administered by The Citizens Crime Commission in Philadelphia.

According Colarulo, the men appeared to know exactly where they were going which leads investigators to believe the suspects may have cased the store sometime prior to the robbery.

http://www.timesherald.com/article/20120223/NEWS03/120229800/-1/NEWS