Vacaville police are investigating a brazen holdup by four suspects who robbed a local jewelry store at gunpoint Thursday morning, officials said.
Police received a call from employees at the Zales Outlet in the Vacaville Premium Outlets at 11:24 a.m., saying that four suspects dressed in dark clothing entered the jewelry store moments earlier and robbed it, said Vacaville police Sgt. Jeff King, supervisor of the Investigative Services Section.
With faces covered, one suspect was armed with what appeared to be an assault rifle, two carried hammers and the fourth was carrying bags, witnesses told police. The suspects herded the two employees and at least three customers inside to store to a specific area while the two men carrying hammers smashed the four glass display cases during what police described as "a takeover-style robbery."
The suspects collected an undisclosed amount of jewelry before running to a waiting cream-colored mid-sized SUV and speeding from the area in an unknown direction, King said.
No injuries were reported.
Investigators and evidence scene technicians responded to the store, 131 Nut Tree Road, where they took pictures and collected evidence.
The heist was reminiscent of a similar smash-and-grab robbery at DeBartolo & Co. in downtown Vacaville last August. In that incident, which also occurred in broad daylight, six masked suspects rushed into the business. One suspect held the store's owner at gunpoint while the others shattered the display cases with hammers before grabbing the jewelry and escaping. Two of the suspects remain at large.
King said it is unknown whether there is any connection between the two robberies, or the numerous other smash-and-grab incidents that have taken place in Northern California over the past four years. Among the cities hit are Sacramento, San Jose and San Francisco.
Anyone with information about the crime is urged to contact the Vacaville Police Department at 449-5200 or Detective Chris Lechuga at 449-5269.
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