Thieves in Merced Mall smash-and-grab took $180K in items. Mall management on high alert
Police on Thursday released the dollar amount for a smash-and-grab jewelry heist committed by a group of thieves at a Merced Mall jewelry shop, placing the total value of the items at $180,411.
Detectives are still working to identity possible suspects in the incident, reported Tuesday when 12 to 15 people, all of whom were wearing masks, gloves and hoodies, smashed open glass display cases and made off with merchandise from Prestigio Jewelers.
According to Merced Police Lt. Emily Foster, the thieves were able to escape with around 500 items. Police recovered items worth $21,209 from the ground inside and outside the mall., which the thieves dropped as they fled the scene.
No shoppers or employees were hurt during the incident.
In the meantime, the police department is dedicating detective resources to the ongoing investigation. “Identifying 15 people is an extensive investigation that is going to take a considerable amount of time,” said Foster.
Foster said the crime appears to have been organized and possibly connected to cases elsewhere. “We would never rule out the possibility that it could be linked to similar-style crimes and robberies that have occurred in other jurisdictions,” said Foster.
Response by mall officials
As shocking as the crime is to the community, police and mall officials do not want the public to feel unsafe when visiting the mall.
Members of the Merced Mall’s management say their security has been on high alert since the robbery. They are also working with Merced police detectives to provide them with any video surveillance to aid in the investigation.
Max Whitley who has served as the Merced Mall property manager since 2017, said he hasn’t seen anything like Tuesday’s incident during his time with the mall.
Whitley referenced how similar robberies have happened in larger cities and other parts of the state. He said most of the thieves look for easy access to freeways or some type of escape route. “They look for a way to get the stuff and get the heck out of town as fast as they can,” Whitley said.
Having worked in his industry since 1983, Whitley said he has experience working with police departments and security in collecting and providing information for the use of prosecution.
Whitley said the thieves entered the mall and went directly to Prestigio Jewelers. Some were armed with heavy sledge hammers, which were used to break into cases and steal merchandise.
“It took a total of about 90 seconds for the whole thing to happen and that’s from the time they got dropped off to the time they left,” said Whitley.
Whitley speculates that those involved in the robbery scouted the area beforehand, waiting for security to be at the other end of the mall before committing the crime. Possibly even having someone inside the mall watching.
If retailers do fall victim to these types of robberies, Whitley said it’s best to step back, not interfere in the theft and immediately notify law enforcement, to better ensure no innocent person is harmed during the crime.
“Most of (the businesses) have enough insurance to cover themselves, we don’t want to see anybody ever get hurt. No-one got hurt thank goodness,” Whitley said.
Although this is a rare event for Merced, Whitley said it’s not rare for California.
Despite the brazen robbery, Whitley believes the mall is still a safe place for customers to visit. “We’ve had very few incidents of any type that were even close to this,” said Whitley.
Work could be seen taking place inside the Prestigio Jewelers location Thursday afternoon. According to Whitley, the retailer expects to reopen by Valentine’s Day.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM.