Could North Florida jewelry store burglars be involved in similar Central Florida break-ins?
LONGWOOD, Fla. - Investigations are moving forward following a series of burglaries across Central Florida.
Certified Jewelry Designs in Longwood is patching back up after a break-in in October. Thieves used a ladder to climb to the roof of the building, then sawed through a neighboring business and sliced through the adjoining wall to get into the jewelry store. From there, they used special tools to cut into a heavy vault through the back.
A month later, Certified Jewelry Designs’ owner, Albert Pagán, is working to get his shop back to its former glory.
The holes cut into the wall have been filled in and there are painters coming in soon.
"Hopefully in the next week or two, I’ll have all my inventory somewhat back," said Pagán. "Not what I had before, but we’re happy."
He’s also working to get his store’s burglars behind bars.
"With these men apprehended, we can get some justice for some of us that have been robbed," he said.
Pagán says St. Cloud Police reached out to him to get in contact with the detectives on his case.
That Department is investigating the November 20th attempted burglary of Dave Askew Jewelers.
"I just want to let people know that own retail shops, look for the signals," Askew told FOX 35.
Sgt. Wayne Souza with the St. Cloud Police Department told FOX 35 News on November 28th that the department hopes to have an update on its case soon. Right after the break-in, he’d said:
"There have been a number of recent like burglaries within the Central Florida area, and I know that our detectives are currently liaisoned with other agencies to try to establish some links."
Clermont Police are investigating a $750-thousand burglary from the Village Goldsmith this past January are also checking whether any of these cases could be related. That store closed after the break-in.
Pagán even shared video with detectives looking into a break-in at Julie’s Jewelry Store in Jacksonville.
Police wouldn’t confirm any arrests from that case, but there were two people arrested in Jacksonville for a jewelry store break-in a week later with the exact same MO. The arrest report says burglars rappelled from the roof and cut through the wall of a neighboring business to reach the jewelry store.
The owner of Julie’s told FOX 35 News over the phone she’s certain it was the same group involved in each of these cases.
"Police have a couple suspects," said Pagán. Hopefully they can continue arresting them. Who knows, it could be a miracle and we could recover some of our merchandise."