Dennis RomeroAnother day another jewelry store smash-and-grab in Koreatown. This time cops say a parking lot security guard was “bludgeoned” as three suspects made their exits. He was put in a hospital in critical condition and was subsequently stabilized.
The 11 a.m. heist at CC Diamonds (3240 Wilshire Blvd. near South Vermont Avenue) Tuesday afternoon was one of several smash-and-grab robberies that have plagued Koreatown and the downtown Jewelry District this spring and summer.
Police have collared suspects in past cases and even trumpeted the arrests earlier this month of five suspects who were allegedly cruising around the Jewelry District. And still, the heists happen:
Cops say a trio of robbers did the deed yesterday: One of them allegedly held the in-store security guard at gunpoint while the other smashed jewelry cases with hammers and grabbed the loot, according to an LAPD statement:
During the robbery, the suspects removed thousands of dollars worth of jewelry from the display cases. The suspects then ran out the back door. Outside the store, they encountered the parking lot security guard, a male Korean, who they bludgeoned in an attempt to escape.
Two of the three men allegedly tried to carjack a woman but couldn't get her car so they moved on and carjacked a man in a white, 2001 GMC Savana with plate number 6T97736, police say. (Cops still want to find that van).
A GMC Savana.; Credit: Wiki
Meanwhile, authorities say, one of the three was seen leaving the scene in a green Toyota, which was later found abandoned about a mile away.
In May a duo of suspects pulled off a $1 million dollar smash-and-grab robbery that targeted Rolex watches at store inside the Koreatown Plaza mall.
Suspect descriptions in Tuesday's job were pretty generic, so we're going to wait and post security video of the robbery here when the LAPD releases it later today.
Screen shots of the latest Koreatown robbery.; Credit: LAPD
If you have info on the heist the department would love your help: 213-382-9103.
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