Brazen gun-toting thieves tie up employees, rob New York City jewelry store in broad daylight
Thieves steal an estimated $4 million worth of jewelry during NYC heist that was caught on surveillance video; David Lee Miller reports.
New York City police released new footage Monday as they hunt a trio of men wanted for robbing a jewelry store in broad daylight – just steps away from some of the Big Apple’s most popular tourist attractions.
The footage, taken Sunday from inside Avianne & Co. in Midtown Manhattan’s Diamond District, shows one of the suspects sitting at a table and looking directly at a camera before pulling out a pistol. Another part of the video shows a man who appears to be an employee walking around the store’s showroom with his hands up.
Police told the New York Post that the men posed as customers around noon Sunday before brandishing handguns and restraining four of the store’s workers with zip ties. They then went through the shop’s safe and display cases, placing a number of jewelry pieces into a duffel bag, the newspaper added.
The street police say the suspects fled on is lined wall-to-wall with jewelry stores and is right next to tourist attractions such as Times Square and Rockefeller Center.
EMPLOYEES TIED UP IN NEW YORK CITY JEWELRY HEIST
One of the suspects in a robbery at the Avianne & Co. jewelry store in New York City on Sunday is pictured staring at a camera before pulling out a handgun. (NYPD)
Avianne & Co., on its Facebook page, describes itself as the “leading Custom Diamond Jewelers in Hip Hop and Pop Culture” and lists Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne among its exclusive clients.
In 2018, rapper Lil Pump bought five diamond-encrusted watches from the store valued at up to $200,000 each, the New York Post reported.
And Sunday’s heist apparently isn’t the first time Avianne & Co. has been targeted.
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In 2014, a suspect stole $53,000 in jewelry from the store in a grab-and-run case, according to the New York Post.
The NYPD is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for tips about the suspects in the latest incident.
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