Crime & Courts

Thief makes off with $40K of jewelry in Juneau smash-and-grab

Juneau police are requesting the public's help in identifying and locating a thief who made off with $40,000 in jewelry from Costco. Investigators believe the culprit hid in the store until it was closed.

On Wednesday at about 10:30 in the evening, officers responded to an alarm at the capital city's Costco. They found the jewelry case inside the store had been busted open and about $40,000 of jewelry gone, police said in a news release.

A witness told police a man with short, brown hair wearing a green coat fled the area carrying items in his arms. He was gone before responding officers arrived.

"The first alarm went off when the suspect broke into the jewelry case," police said. "It appears the suspect had hidden in the store prior to closing."

Police said they searched the area and found a new watch, apparently dropped by the suspect, near Costco.

Anyone with information about the crime or suspect is being encouraged to submit tips to the Juneau Police Department at (907) 586-0600 or through the Juneau Crime Line website.

However, police noted, a woman who posted watches for sale on a Facebook page called Juneau Buy-Sell within hours of the burglary is not the suspect. A detective examined her watches and determined they'd been legitimately obtained.

"No further tips about that posting are needed," police said.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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