Sledgehammers Used In Bay Area Jewelry Store Robbery: Police

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Robbers used sledgehammers to smash display cases in a robbery last week at a Walnut Creek jewelry store, police said.

According to Lt. Bruce Jower of the Walnut Creek Police Department, it happened around 4:50 p.m. Thursday at a store in the 1300 block of North Main Street.

Four suspects ran inside the business and used sledgehammers to break the display cases and steal purses and jewelry from the store, Jower said.

The suspects left in a silver sedan and headed south on North Main Street, the lieutenant said.

One of the employees suffered minor injuries from the broken glass and was treated at the scene.

Officers were on scene within two minutes of the call, Jower said. They spoke with witnesses who described the robbers as men wearing face coverings, gloves and sweatshirts.

A similar robbery was reported Sept. 22 at a jewelry store in Concord. Five suspects wearing hoods, masks and gloves entered Kay Jewelers at Sunvalley Mall and used a sledgehammer and a pickaxe to break glass display cases and steal numerous pieces of jewelry, Concord police said.

Police encouraged anyone with information to call the Walnut Creek Police Department at 925-943-5844 or the anonymous tip line at 925-943-5865.