Teams of Jewelry Store Robbers Still On the Loose in Greater Atlanta Area

GDO Report

<% If Request.QueryString("printerFriendly")<>"true" Then %>

Police are circulating security video of a group of robbers that stole bags of jewelry from a store in Smyrna and pistol-whipped the cooperative owner for good measure.

The trio has a distinctive look. Police say they came into My Jeweler on Spring Road last week pretending to sell jewelry. They were overly dressed. One guy had a fake limp, while the other two were wearing hats and glasses, detectives said.

Then on command, the first robber fled the scene and within seconds, the other two held the owner and two customers at gun point. The robbers took the store owner to the back and started grabbing jewels by the bag full.

"The owner was being super cooperative with them, doing whatever they told him to do," said Smyrna Officer Michael Smith told Channel 2 Action News.

It didn’t matter. One of the suspects pistol-whipped the owner who needed six stitches to close the wound.

"He gave them everything that they asked for; it was just an act of aggression that these guys just don't care," employee Cornelius Faison said.

The suspects ran off when another customer peered into the store and saw the chaos.

"Please, please report these guys in. They did a terrible act, they violently hit him in the head with a gun, and had not it been interrupted, we don't know what might have happened," Faison said.

Anyone who believes they recognize the robbers or have any other information about this daylight robbery is asked to call the Smyrna Police Department at (770) 434-6666

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RELATED STORIES:
Other Jewelry Related Robberies In Greater Atlanta In Recent Months

ATLANTA - Police around Greater Atlanta are advising Cash for Gold dealers and jewelry businesses of the recent robberies that are growing in number.

Crime Prevention Officers explain that fifty percent of all domestic burglaries involve the theft of jewellery and a considerable amount of this is sold through cash for gold schemes and jewellers. This can result in a significant monetary loss for the business if they fall victim to buying stolen goods.

The police are providing advice and guidance on how business owners can protect themselves from this type of crime. We will also share details of new schemes we have put in place to help detect and deter those who sell stolen jewelry

For more information on crime prevention, please consult your county authorities.

__________________________________________________________

Armed Robbers Steal Fine Jewelry & Gold

ATLANTA - Two armed suspects stole $300,000 and $400,000 in fine jewelry and gold at about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday outside an Atlanta residence.

According to witnesses, the distributors had just left an undisclosed jewelry store and were en route to a private showing.

Lewis said they had parked and exited the vehicle and began to walk towards the residence when the robbery took place.

“They were approached by two suspects armed with hand guns,” Lewis said. “Before they could even run, the suspects gun pointed them and took the backpack which contained the $300,000 to $400,000 of fine jewelry and gold and fled northbound on 17th in a dark colored four dour sedan.”

The suspects were both described as being in their mid-20s with medium-builds, wearing dark hoodies and bandannas over their faces. One man is black and the other is believed to be Latino or black, Lewis said.

The investigation is ongoing.

-----------------------------------------------

Police Searching for Gold Buyers Armed Robber

Nassau County Police are searching for a man who allegedly used a gun to rob Gold Buyers in Levittown in September.

According to police, around 12:39 p.m. on Sept. 16, the pictured suspect entered Gold Buyers, located at 3259B Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown, and pretended to be a customer.

The suspect then produced a handgun and announced a robbery, police said. The suspect took money from an employee and fled on foot southbound crossing Hempstead Turnpike.

The suspect is described as a white or Hispanic male in his 30s or 40s. He is approximately 5-foot-8 with dark curly hair, a dark jacket, dark nylon sweatpants and a baseball cap.

For further information contact the Nassau County Police Department Robbery Squad at 516-573-8040.

-----------------------------------------------

Man shot in gold chain robbery

STOCKTON - A robber shot a 56-year-old in his knee during a gold chain theft Saturday in south Stockton. 

Local police spokesperson said the victim sustained a nonlife-threatening wound in the attack that took place about 1:30 p.m.The victim was washing a dog kennel in his driveway. Police say the suspect is a 5-foot 8-inch tall Latino with a thin build. He possibly fled in a gray Acura TL made in the late 1990s or early 2000s, police said.

A man who lives across the street from the victim said the attack symbolizes how dangerous the city has gotten.

"Something needs to be done," Al Rash said. "I feel like I need to have a weapon on me whenever I leave the house. I'm looking at getting a permit to carry a concealed weapon."

Rash said the victim has been his neighbor for roughly three years.
----------------------------------------------------

Woman robbed of gold chain at gunpoint

STOCKTON- A 28-year-old woman had a gun pointed at her head and was robbed of her gold chain.

The robbery occurred Saturday afternoon just before 4 p.m.

Stockton Police Lt. Tom Jernigan said the woman was standing on the sidewalk in front of her residence when she was approached by two suspects on foot. One of the suspects grabbed her neck with both hands, while the other suspect pointed a handgun at her head.

The suspect holding her neck ripped off the victim's 20 inch chain style necklace, Jernigan said.

A witness told police they thought the suspects fled in a black car.

A police report described the suspects as two Black males in their mid 20's. One of the suspects was bald and the other suspect had shoulder length dreadlocks and was wearing a white t-shirt with a black design on the front.
---------------------------------------------------

Four months on, police crack Muthoot Finance heist case

Almost four months after armed young men made off with over 13 kg in gold and some cash during a broad daylight robbery at the Muthoot Finance office in Sector 7 Rohini here, the North-West Delhi Police on Thursday claimed to have worked out the sensational case with the arrest of the alleged mastermind.

Stolen gold jewellery valued at Rs. 1 crore, Rs. 8 lakh in cash and a Tata Safari car allegedly purchased from the sale of the stolen jewellery have allegedly been seized.

The accused, Kaushal Chauhan (30), reportedly told the police that he planned the robbery to pay the outstanding electricity bills at his factory, alimony to his estranged wife and make good the heavy losses he suffered in business.

Chauhan met his old contacts — Rahul, Amit and Paramjeet — in Haryana with a plan to commit the robbery and the gang arranged for firearms and two motorcycles, the police said.

The gang carried out reconnaissance of the branch and found that there were only a couple of employees at the branch.

On the fateful day of June 22, the gang members barged into the office on the first floor of the Aggarwal Mall and allegedly made off with 13.5 kg gold and Rs. 1.3 lakh in cash after overpowering the staff.

The gang also hit the guard with the butt of the pistol and stabbed him when he resisted. The guard also opened fire at the robbers while they were fleeing, but missed the target.

Chauhan was arrested following a tip-off when he came to the Pitampura metro station in his Tata Safari on Wednesday.

A bag containing stolen gold jewellery worth over Rs. 1 crore was recovered from him. Later Rs. 8 lakh in cash and the car were seized.

Chauhan had five kg of stolen jewellery as his share, the police said.

Four months on, police crack Muthoot Finance heist case

Gwinnett Cash for Gold Store Receives Praise

ATLANTA - Question and Answer website "Experts123.com" goes to bat for Gwinnett Gold Brokers, formerly Atlanta HardiPLank. 

Evidently, some questions were directed to the highly rated search engine "Experts123.com" concerning what motivated the owners of Atlanta HardiPlank to turn to thh Greater Atlanta Gold Brokerage market.  This was their response:

Market research showed, at the time, that there was great need for a fair and responsible local gold brokerage business to establish itself to help prevent consumers from being taken great advantage of by companies blasting mega-advertising campaigns on television - convincing consumers to send them their valuable gold and jewelry through the regular mail. It was obvious to EVERYONE the those who were desperate enough to do so would have absolutely no legal recourse should they end up being taken advantage of.

Within just a few months of those television ads running all hours each day and night - complaints by the thousands were rolling into the news media by the thousands from families who were desperate from the failing economy who sent in thousands of dollars worth of valuable gold and jewelry - only to receive a check for less than twenty dollars in return.  So that's when the Atlanta HardiPlank folks placed their siding business on hiatus and did all they could to prevent struggling families from being taken advantage of when selling their gold.

Another reason was the fact that a pair of con artists named Richard L. Wyllie and Mary O. Wyllie - formerly of Duluth, Georgia - had reportedly defrauded the company of tens of thousands of dollars in HardiPlank work, as well.  Further investigation into the pair revealed that they were also connected to child pornography and online pharmacy scams, stealing from the elderly.

The two reported con artists fled from the area after losing their house to foreclosure - leaving countless home repair companies and creditors to absorb six figures of losses.