By Courier staff

Three men entered the Diamond Center with hammers and shattered numerous display cases at 3 p.m. Thursday, June 29, stealing an unknown amount of jewelry from the 147 Yale Ave. store. This was followed by a similarly brazen robbery in La Verne two days later.

In the Claremont incident the suspects’ car was parked in front of the store with the driver waiting at the time of the robbery.

“The suspects inside the business stole numerous pieces of jewelry, ran out of the store and entered the awaiting vehicle. The vehicle then fled the location,” read a news release from the Claremont Police Department.

Claremont police arrived at the scene by 3:15 p.m. and interviewed employees and multiple witnesses. Officers also were able to view surveillance video.

The suspects are described as Black males, 18-23 years old with thin builds. They were  wearing ski masks, gloves, and hooded sweatshirts.

The getaway car was a newer model, white, four-door Hyundai Elantra with dark tinted windows, and an “Empire Works Construction” decal on the side.

The La Verne robbery occurred two days later when at 12:16 p.m. July 1 a white four door sedan was driven through the glass storefront of Rodeo Jewelers, 1560 Foothill Blvd. Four male suspects then entered the store, shattered display cases, and loaded several bags with jewelry. One employee was assaulted during the robbery and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The suspects then exited the store with the stolen jewelry and fled the scene in a secondary getaway vehicle, a black sedan. La Verne PD is investigating a robbery, including processing the car that remained at the scene.

You can view the shocking video of the La Verne robbery on Facebook at facebook.com/reel/1303004990341523.

In January 2022 a similar “smash and grab” crime occurred a few blocks up Yale Avenue at 4C’s Finecraft Jewelry.

In that crime, three suspects entered the business and immediately sprayed employees with a chemical that incapacitated them. The men then used tools to smash display cases and stole numerous pieces of jewelry before fleeing the scene and running north to a waiting getaway car.

Those burglars were later arrested.

If you have any information about the Claremont crime or are a local business owner with video surveillance that captured the crime, please contact the Claremont Police Department at (909) 399-5411.

If you have information that may help La Verne PD in their investigation, please call (909) 596-1913.