Jeweler robbed of $1.8 million in gems

It took about 10 seconds for a wholesale jeweler to lose $1.8 million worth of gems.

The 56-year-old was walking to his car in the parking lot of a Glenview restaurant last week when two apparently unarmed men attacked him, said the jeweler, who wished to be identified only as Mike for fear of being targeted again.

After a brief struggle, the assailants ripped the car keys out of his hands and drove off with his vehicle and a case of jewels. The case contained an 11-carat blue sapphire, 18-carat gold jewelry, rubies and several other expensive loose gems, he said.

Authorities said the crime bears the markings of similar thefts by gang members targeting jewelry dealers.

"We're pretty sure he was followed by the people who robbed him," said Glenview Police Sgt. Stefan Johnson. "These kinds of robberies have been happening in the Chicago area for years."

Glenview police are working with other law-enforcement agencies to develop leads and suspects, Johnson said. There have been two similar robberies in Glenview since April 2006, he said, but the amounts involved did not approach the $1.8 million taken last week.

Mike said he visited various jewelry stores Oct. 3 in the north and northwest suburbs, then stopped in Glenview for a final sales call and dinner. He took his jewelry case inside the restaurant in the 1700 block of Milwaukee Avenue, but when he returned to his car after dinner and placed the case inside, a van pulled up behind him.

"It was dark, and when I turned to look ,the van door was open and someone was jumping out," the jeweler said Tuesday in a telephone interview from his business in West Des Moines, Iowa. "Another man came out from beside a car where he must have been hiding."

He was knocked to the ground by the men, who were dressed in black, and one of them covered his face with a thick cloth glove to keep him from yelling for help.

"He kept trying to cover my mouth, and I was trying to bite his hand," the jeweler said. "It was a desperate struggle. He kept saying, 'It's not worth it. I can kill you.'

"I was trying to spray him with pepper spray. I was thinking to myself, 'I don't know if this guy's going to stick me with a knife.' "

The assailants pried the car keys from the jeweler's hand, then one of them jumped in his 2007 Subaru Forester and both vehicles sped away.

"I saw nothing because I was on the ground," said Mike, who was not seriously hurt. "The whole thing must have taken 10 seconds."

He said several employees from the restaurant heard his cries, but by the time they got to the parking lot, the assailants were fleeing.

Police said security camera video shows the assailants driving into a parking lot several blocks away on Milwaukee. The video shows a man with the jewelry case exit the victim's Subaru and get into the van, which then flees south, police said.

"These guys are professionals. They aren't clowns," Mike said.

Mike said it was the first time he has been robbed, and it is still unclear what his insurance will cover. But he also said he would not let the crime drive him out of business.

"I've been doing this for 24 years, but from now on, I won't carry as much jewelry or gems with me," he said.

"I will have my pepper spray in my hand."
Source: chicagotribune