A thief managed to walk away with more than $200,000 in jewelry from a Sears department store in Concord last week.
The heist took place Friday after closing at Sun Valley mall, and while the suspect was able to avoid getting caught, police said they have a clear picture of the man on surveillance footage.
Detectives believe the suspect simply got lucky because he was able to hide and wait inside the store for five hours without being detected. Then after the store closed, he got his hands on more than 100 rings.
Police said the suspect waited until about 2:30 a.m. to act, and he even set off the alarm. Police responded but left with the suspect still inside.
"At the time that the officers went in to check, they discovered no bodies and no evidence of a crime," Concord police Sgt. Carl Cruz said. The suspect may have been in a storage locker or storage room in the back of the store, Cruz said.
But surveillance cameras caught him in the act, and detectives say it’s only a matter of time before he’s caught.
"We see him smashing the jewelry case and taking the merchandise," Cruz said. The surveillance footage shows the suspect holding a bag filled with the 127 stolen rings valued at $218,000, police said.
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"That’s pretty bad," shopper Gabriel Williams said. "That means their security is not doing too well here."
When employees arrived to open the store Saturday morning, they discovered the missing jewelry but no suspect, police said.
Police said because the suspect did not hide his identity, they are hopeful someone will recognize him.
