Caught on Camera: Two men steal from downtown Sioux Falls jewelry store
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Sioux Falls police are searching for two men linked to a burglary at a downtown Sioux Falls jewelry store.
Surveillance footage shows the two men enter Bechtold Jewelry Store Wednesday evening. One man appears to be distracting an employee behind the counter, while the other man checks jewelry cases to see if any were unlocked.
The owner of Bechtold Jewelry says roughly $30,000 worth of jewelry was taken during the burglary.
The men seemed to have planned out their heist ahead of time, as they were in the store for over 10 minutes before going after the jewels.
“They were moving around showcases just waiting to find an open case. While one was distracting, the other one went behind the case and checked it and when he found one that was opened he snatched it,” said Bechtold Jewelry shop owner Thomas Faini.
Faini is optimistic police will be able to catch those responsible, as several fingerprints were left at the scene and the entire theft was caught on camera.
“Surveillance cameras are key pieces of evidence it’s not going to necessarily prevent crime but in the event that there’s some type of crime that happens it’s something that we really rely upon, and we have a good track record of being able to identify people with those cameras.” says Sioux Falls Police Department Public Information Officer Sam Clemens.
Police and shop owner agree that the now common practice of wearing masks makes it harder to identify the culprits.
As of Thursday morning, the store has upgraded its security in hopes that something like this will never happen again.
“We’re going to require people to remove their masks so the cameras can spot them before they come in. So we’re going to change some of those procedures and I’d suggest other jewelry stores do the same,” says Faini.
Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. Tips can be made to Crime Stoppers by calling (605) 367-7007.
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