- Security footage shows the moment a gang raided a jewelry store before destroying the premises with sledgehammers
- Debris flies across the screen as it rampages through the terrain
- But the violence is in vain as the valuable jewels have already been removed from the exhibition
Moronic burglars broke into an LA jewelry store in a spectacular raid and found most of the good stuff locked up for the night.
Stunning security footage captures the moment the masked gang crashed a stolen SUV through the front wall of JR’s Diamonds and Jewelry in luxurious Sherman Oaks on Saturday night.
Metal bars flew and part of the ceiling collapsed as the gang stormed into the store, jumped over furniture and began smashing into display cases with sledgehammers.
With the shop a wreck, they find that their efforts have produced little more than trinkets before retreating, leaving the badly damaged SUV nearby.
“We need to redo the floors, redo the cabinets because they were smashed for no reason,” the store owner told ABC7.
“There was nothing in it.”
Security footage captures the moment the storefront collapses as the stolen SUV reverses at high speed through the closed window
Empty boxes also prove to be targets for thieves, who rampage through the store with sledgehammers in search of loot
Jewel and the Clown: The stolen SUV was later found abandoned after the thieves left mostly empty-handed
More than 12,000 burglaries have been reported across the city so far this year, up 15 percent from the same period in 2021, while the number of arrests for the crime fell by almost 14 percent.
Security footage captured the moment last week when a burglar broke through the roof of a smokehouse in nearby Eagle Rock and rappelled down a rope through the hole.
When the store’s owner arrived the next morning, he found stolen cigarettes and lottery tickets, as well as a rope dangling through the hole in his now badly damaged ceiling.
Sherman Oaks has also been the victim of a wave of “flash mob” attacks that have swept the city in recent months.
In August, a horde of masked bandits wearing hoodies and dark clothing rampaged through Westfield Fashion Square, a shopping center with more than 100 stores, including big-name retailers such as Bloomingdales, Macy’s, Apple and Banana Republic.
Days earlier, about 30 thieves stole $400,000 worth of branded items from the YSL store at the Glendale Americana at Brand.
Robberies also occurred in 2021 in the city where LA father Vince Ricci had his concealed carry license revoked last week after he was attacked by two men in his $2 million home.
The hooded attackers jumped over cabinets and backed out of the store, leaving chaos in their wake
The store, located in the 15000 block of Ventura Boulevard, has been in business for three generations
With his wife, five-month-old child and nanny in the house, Ricci grabbed his gun and began a shootout when two gunmen jumped his fence and attempted to force their way into his home.
Police say they currently have no leads in connection with the raid at JR’s Diamonds, which took place around 1:45 a.m. Sunday morning.
Authorities found the SUV that rammed the store abandoned nearby. Investigators assumed the vehicle was stolen.
Despite their lackluster returns, the gang managed to inflict extensive damage on the business that has existed for three generations on the 15,000 block of Ventura Boulevard.
“They just don’t care, so it impacts us both financially and mentally,” the owner said.