Thieves make off with $500,000 in jewels on Mercer Island
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MERCER ISLAND, Wash. -- Police say $500,000 in jewels were stolen from a courier's vehicle Tuesday afternoon when it was parked in a business area on Mercer Island.
The salesman was in town from New York City and was traveling between stores in Seattle and those on the Eastside. He stopped to get a bite to eat and use the bathroom, but when he came back out those precious goods were gone.
Someone broke into the back seat of his car and took two suitcases filled with that half a million dollars in diamonds and jewelry.
Surveillance video shows a van that followed the car into the Mercer Island parking lot. It takes less than a minute for someone to break in, steal the goods, and take off.
Police wonder if someone was following the salesman who was carrying the diamonds.
"These jewelry gangs will set themselves up adjacent to jewelry districts or jewelry stores and be on the lookout for these couriers," said Det. Peter Erickson with Mercer Island Police.
Mercer Island jeweler Chris Francisco says he's sometimes visited by jewelry salesmen, who have a tough job traveling from the Diamond District in New York to local stores to sell their goods.
"What I know is they're traveling, they've got at least $2-3 million dollars, not just half a million," Francisco said. "They can't leave it in the hotel. They usually would leave it in the car."
The only leads police have are the surveillance videos of the suspect's car and generic photos of the glittery goods that were taken.
Detectives think these bright and shiny gems might turn up on the black market.
So why did the dealer leave the gems in the car?
"Pardon the pun: That's going to be the million dollar question," Erickson said. "Why he didn't take his jewelry with him?"
The New York-based diamond dealer who owns the jewelry says he is insured but insurance will not cover this because the jewelry was left unattended.
The owner told us: "We always tell them not to leave the bag unattended. We told him 15, 20 times at least in the past few months."
The salesman was in town from New York City and was traveling between stores in Seattle and those on the Eastside. He stopped to get a bite to eat and use the bathroom, but when he came back out those precious goods were gone.
Someone broke into the back seat of his car and took two suitcases filled with that half a million dollars in diamonds and jewelry.
Surveillance video shows a van that followed the car into the Mercer Island parking lot. It takes less than a minute for someone to break in, steal the goods, and take off.
Police wonder if someone was following the salesman who was carrying the diamonds.
"These jewelry gangs will set themselves up adjacent to jewelry districts or jewelry stores and be on the lookout for these couriers," said Det. Peter Erickson with Mercer Island Police.
Mercer Island jeweler Chris Francisco says he's sometimes visited by jewelry salesmen, who have a tough job traveling from the Diamond District in New York to local stores to sell their goods.
"What I know is they're traveling, they've got at least $2-3 million dollars, not just half a million," Francisco said. "They can't leave it in the hotel. They usually would leave it in the car."
The only leads police have are the surveillance videos of the suspect's car and generic photos of the glittery goods that were taken.
Detectives think these bright and shiny gems might turn up on the black market.
So why did the dealer leave the gems in the car?
"Pardon the pun: That's going to be the million dollar question," Erickson said. "Why he didn't take his jewelry with him?"
The New York-based diamond dealer who owns the jewelry says he is insured but insurance will not cover this because the jewelry was left unattended.
The owner told us: "We always tell them not to leave the bag unattended. We told him 15, 20 times at least in the past few months."
items are only worth what people are willing to pay. Â Diamonds are beautiful, but now that they can by made in a lab, value should drop. Â They're just rocks, after all. Â Â Worse investment than a boat.
Mercer Island!? Really??!! Where better to find such extravagant garnishments. Bellevue?? Yep I would have to say someone knew where to look.
Well this story sounds too convenient for the thieves, sounds like a total inside job either by the carrier or the company to get insurance money. Was there other packages stolen? Or did the thieves just broke into a random can on Mercer Island and it happened to have half a million dollars in it?
The jewelry shown have small stones so itâs highly unlikely that they were coded/serial numbered so not easily traceable. These thieves probably were aware of this, win/win for the thieves (get to sell the jewelry) and the company (doesnât have to sell them).
Someone is getting fired... why was this not in oh an armored vehicle!
Shouldn't be too hard to trace. Jewel thieves are idiots. They are marked with unique IDs stupid!
Oh please do share what special markings? 14K
Marked jewelry? Maybe cheap stuff. This sounds more like stones.
A lot of manufacturers are laser engraving ID numbers on stones. My wife's diamond has a serial # on it.
Dumb, dumb, dumb move, Â leaving the loot in the car.
What was it doing on Mercer Island? Meeting up with the thief?
Who leaves a half a million dollars worth of jewelry in a car? I know, someone about to get their butt fired, that's who.  Way to go Einstein!Â
Totally an inside job. Otherwise how would the thieves know that there was that amount of jewels in this guy's vehicle? And he just happened to be taking a break when the theft occurred? Uh huh. Suuuuuure.
@Tattooed_Angel2Â Pretty low tech jobs. Just hang out in the jewelry district, watch for a courier and follow them till they find a good spot to strike. Not abig deal. The courier service is insured like everything else on the planet.
@Blindman - LOL - Jewelry District? When did Mercer Island get a Jewelry District???
@missyk Excellent point!
They are the jewelry district.
I wonder what the policy is for this courier company regarding taking breaks when carrying that type of load? Common sense would tell me that they wouldn't just stop to take a 1/2 hour break.  How many people were in the courier truck?  My suspicion is that this could be an inside job.
Well, he will either be looking for a new job or moving to Mexico...
According to King5, it is a suspected Mexican crime gang that targets couriers...
http://www.king5.com/news/crime/Thieves-steal-500000-jewelry-Mercer-Island-195666571.html
Nothing like complete information, is there? Two words...SANCTUARY STATE!
Was the driver also a Mexican or immigrant?
@takncarabizniz They're just good people, looking to get their life on track in a new place.....*puke*
Nondescript courier vehicle and the driver is "on a break" and almost to his destination one would presume. Yep inside job. MPD better keep an eye on him.
I agree an inside job.
Inside job, but really $500,000 in jewels maybe in your dreams...
" $500,000" in jewelry in a police report = $5,000 actual cost of lost merchandise. Maybe.
And $1,000 of that was for the airline ticket and hotel.
Agreed. Stops for a half-hour break, leaving half a million in jewels in the car?? If I were ever carrying that much in valuables, I wouldn't be taking a break until I got the goods to their final destination, no matter how far away it was.  I would be peeing in a bottle and ordering take-out at the drive-thru window. Oh, and I would have an armed partner with me.
So you are transporting $500K in jewels and you think a locked car will keep them safe? This sounds all too convenient to be coincidence. Someone tipped off the crooks.