DALLAS- Dallas police are investigating a large-scale jewelry theft in East Dallas over the weekend. The family that owns the store says thieves stole more than $600,000 worth of merchandise from the business.
Angel Cuenca
Surveillance video shows how a quiet Sunday for Angel Cuenca was shattered in just 30 seconds after four men began destroying her family’s jewelry displays inside the El Rancho supermarket in East Dallas.
“I felt completely helpless. They went for the two display cases with the most precious jewelry,” Cuenca told CBS News Texas.
Three of the suspects wore masks and one showed his face. Cuenca said the men left with about $600,000 worth of goods.
“A $15,000 chain. We had $13,000 bracelets that were confiscated,” he explained.
He says the heartbreak of the crime has been hard on his mother, Lucy, who opened the store in 2009 and built it from scratch.
“It’s obviously very heartbreaking, because, you know, my mother put her blood, sweat and tears into this, and she came to this country at 17,” Cuenca said.
Cuenca said he chose not to interact with the robbers in case they were armed.
“Any type of movement like that could have escalated,” he added.
Angel Cuenca
Investigators said earlier this month that a similar jewelry theft occurred near Houston, at the same grocery store chain. Police say the two could very well be linked. Cuenca believes a suspect caught on camera in Houston is one of the men who stole his family’s business.
“Just going in there and stealing, stealing the American dream from us. It’s just that it’s difficult. So it must have been planned,” Cuenca suspected.
Cuenca suspects a fifth person could also have acted as a lookout. He posted the surveillance video on social networksattracting the attention of thousands of people across the county. He hopes the scammers can be caught quickly so they can start the new year with peace of mind.
“We need the surrounding Dallas community to hopefully help us bring them to justice, because this is not right,” Cuenca said.
Dallas police have not yet made any arrests in this case and are asking anyone with information to come forward.