GLENDALE, CA - Authorities with the Glendale Police Department (GPD) said that seven individuals, all foreign nationals, are now in custody after allegedly burglarizing a jewelry store in Glendale, California.
Police said that the group of men cut a hole through the roof of Bidrussian Jewelry back in May, clearing out the store's safes, ABC7 reported.
Detectives, with the help of local agencies, were able to develop leads and identify possible suspects. They then put the group of alleged suspects under surveillance.
Detectives said they learned that the group of men were going to hit a jewelry store in La Verne on Sunday, June 29th, and when police saw them trying to get into the store through the roof, they made the arrests then and there.
Investigators said the suspects also used signal jammers and cut wires at the store during the burglary attempt.
An eighth suspect managed to get away during the arrests and remains at large.
GPD identified the seven men arrested as: Jose Millafi, Javier Sepulveda, Cristian Gonzalezburto, Luka Pazitiani, Vera Matias, Victor Iturriagalopez, and Edson Gonzalez.
Investigators said they believe the suspects are involved in similar crimes in the United States as well as their countries of origin.
The jewelry store in Glendale was completely wiped out by the thieves just days after a similar incident in Simi Valley, according to ABC7. The owner of the store, Manail Bidrussian, said that everything inside was gone.
"I sensed something was wrong. I didn't want to go in, but I kind of had an idea of what was going on," Bidrussian said.
"They wiped us out. Everything. All the safes that we had, they were in there. They went in, and they opened up the holes, and they came in through the ceiling. They came in through the ceiling," he added.
This jewelry store has been in the Bidrussian family for 45 years.
Bidrussian said he is not sure how much the thieves took, but appears to be upwards of $1 million. He said he believes that it was a professional crew that broke into his store.
The week prior, thieves went through an adjacent business in Simi Valley to rob a family-owned jewelry store.
The owner of that store said that approximately $2 million in case and merchandise were stolen.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is helping the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) investigate the similar thefts to see if the robberies are connected.
Surveillance from the Simi Valley store is being shared with law enforcement agencies throughout California in hopes of catching all the suspects.
