A jewelry store in West Hollywood released surveillance footage of four suspects sharing hugs and high-fiving each other after allegedly pulling off a heist, ABC 7 News reported.
Robert Goukasian, the store owner’s son, told the outlet that the group stole the family-owned store’s whole inventory and broke into several safes between June 17 and June 18. (RELATED: Video Shows Thieves Brazenly Loot Jewelry Store In Daylight Heist)
A group of thieves pulled off a shocking jewelry heist in West Hollywood, California. Surveillance video captured the group celebrating after the break in, and even giving each other high-fives. https://t.co/65pFJKdFtZ
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) July 1, 2024
ABC 7 News published the footage of the heist on YouTube. The black and white footage appears to show four men, three wearing hoodies and the fourth a hat, mingling as they could be seen “high=fiving and even hugging.” Behind them, what appears to be a safe can be seen open. The man closest to appears to begin removing items before the footage ends. A clip later in the video appears to show the moment when the safe is opened. A third clip appears to show them continuing to remove valuables from the safe.
“At first I thought they like cut a hole through the wall, and they got in, and they did a quick robbery and they left, but it turned out … it took more than 24 hours,” Gouskasian told ABC 7 News. Goukasian reportedly added that the store’s alarm never sounded during the entire heist.
The owner’s son alleged that the group broke into a neighboring building through cutting a hole in the wall and emptied two large safes that contained hundreds of unique jewelry pieces, the outlet reported. He further alleged that they did this in two trips, the first early in the morning and the second late in the night, according to the outlet.
The family has reportedly owned their establishment since 1986. “We’ve pretty much lost everything that we had in the store, but we are very optimistic. We are strong,” Gouskasian told the outlet.
The store owner said the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation had opened an investigation into the incident, according to CBS News. However, the agencies reportedly said they had no reports of the alleged heist.
