Police in Westover say it took about three minutes for three individuals to steal thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from the Zales jewelry store in the Morgantown Mall on Saturday, May 25.
Westover Police Chief Joe Adams said investigators believe the three suspects, described as dark-skinned males, were hiding somewhere in the mall prior to the robbery.
The store closed around 8 p.m. Adams said between 9-9:30 p.m. the suspects can be seen on security cameras attempting to cut the jeweler’s security gate. After making entry they conduct a smash-and-grab style robbery. Around three minutes after breaking in, they leave through the service entrance.
“They just smashed the cabinets, grabbed the stuff, and went out the door,” Adams said.
A gray or silver SUV seen outside the mall is of interest to police and believed to be the escape vehicle.
Mall security discovered the break-in at around 10 p.m. and called police.
Adams said the store has been able to calculate their total losses for police, which is in the thousands, but they will not disclose the amount.
The retailer did have a security system in place, but it did not notify police of the break-in. Police are also reviewing security footage from other stores in the mall.
While the individual stores all have security in place, Adams said the mall itself does not have security cameras inside or outside on the parking lot and entrances, which makes investigators jobs a lot harder.
“We’ve talked to the mall about having cameras in there — it’s frustrating,” he said. “I’m not trying to be lazy or not do police work, but in this day and age we have stores that have excellent cameras that nail thieves left and right. It just astounds me the mall has nothing.”
If anyone has information regarding the robbery, they are asked to call the Westover Police Department at 304-296-6576.
