A Jewelry Store Heist in Broad Daylight

Surveillance video released by the police shows a dramatic scene in which the store’s employees, whose arms and legs had been bound with duct tape and zip ties, were lying on the ground while the men stuffed items into a duffel bag.

The four employees were not seriously injured.

Avianne’s clientele includes musicians with a penchant for the flamboyant, including 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber.

The police were still investigating the scene on Monday.

Jewelry store robberies are rare and becoming even rarer. In the first six months of 2019, there were 59 total jewelry store robberies nationwide, down from 105 in the same period last year, according to the Jewelers’ Security Alliance, a trade association that tracks jewelry crimes for retailers and the police.

Here are a few notable New York City jewelry store capers from prior years:

2016: On New Year’s Eve, three people stole about $6 million in goods from a wholesaler in Midtown specializing in rare pink and yellow diamonds.

2014: A person posing as a deliveryman entered a store in the diamond district with a gun and made off with more than $500,000 in cash and jewels.

2013: A man smashed a display case in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan and grabbed more than $166,000 worth of jewelry.

2006: Masked gunmen with a crowbar broke into a store in Bay Terrace, Queens, and stole at least $500,000 worth of diamond engagement rings.

Source: The New York Times

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