Burlingame robbers steal suitcases with $300,000 to $400,000 in jewelry

Burlingame police are investigating a heist in which an estimated $300,000 to $400,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from two jewelers in a hotel parking lot this afternoon.

The robbery was reported at about noon in the Embassy Suites parking lot, 150 Anza Blvd., when two New York-based jewelry dealers were held up by four people, Burlingame police Cmdr. Mike Matteucci said.

One of the robbers was described as a 6 feet 2 inch tall man who weighed at least 200 pounds and was armed with a knife.

There were no descriptions of the other three suspects, other than they were all wearing masks, Matteucci said.

It appears that two of the suspects got out of the car during the robbery.

"Based on past experiences, these guys are actually jewelry thieves. They are professionals," Matteucci said.

Police said they believe the robbers followed the two jewelers back to the hotel after they left a jewelry wholesaler in San Francisco. The suspects took a blue suitcase and a red suitcase that were filled with about 2,000 pieces of jewelry.

Nobody was hurt in the robbery, and it is unclear why the suspects smashed out some of the windows on the sport utility vehicle that the victims were driving, Matteucci added.

Witnesses did not indicate which way the suspects fled, but they were seen fleeing in a white Infiniti four-door I series sedan that did not have any license plates, Matteucci said.

A countywide bulletin for police to be on the lookout was issued.

Matteucci said police would most likely contact San Francisco police because the jewelers were most likely followed from there. San Francisco police reported that there have been three similar jewelry heists around that city in the past six months.

"We have robbery inspectors working (robberies) with similar MOs," San Francisco police Sgt. Steve Mannina said. "It is the same type of thing with jewelers who had jewelry in a suitcase."

Mannina said Burlingame authorities as of Friday afternoon have not contacted his department, and it is impossible to tell at this point if the crimes are connected. But the suspects in all of the San Francisco robberies wore masks, and in at least one of those crimes were armed with guns.

San Francisco police would not release a description of any of the vehicles involved in the jewelry robberies there.
Source: mercurynews