FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A burglar who broke into a central Fresno body piercing studio through the roof stole an estimated $40,000 to $50,000 worth of high-end jewelry early Friday morning, and the owner believes the suspect may have ties to the body jewelry industry.
Monica Garcia, owner of Blood and Beauty, said display cases containing 14-karat gold body jewelry were emptied during the break-in at her business near McKinley and Blackstone avenues.
“It’s a lot of hard work I put in throughout the years, and just for someone to take a big chunk like that, it’s a little heartbreaking,” Garcia said.
Surveillance video recorded just after 4 a.m. Friday shows a masked burglar inside the store, crouching behind the counter in what Garcia believes was an attempt to avoid triggering a motion detector connected to the alarm system.
Garcia said the theft appeared carefully planned.
“It was planned. Not a lot of people know what the building is like, so it is somebody that knows the value of the jewelry for sure because they went straight to the most expensive case,” she said.
According to Garcia, Blood and Beauty is protected by metal bars, security cameras and an alarm system. She said the suspect bypassed those security measures by entering through the roof.
“They used an extension cord with knots in it. It was like a “Mission: Impossible” type of thing.” Garcia said while describing the method used to access the building.
The burglar targeted some of the shop’s most valuable inventory, including pieces priced as high as $1,600. Garcia said the stolen items were body jewelry, not traditional rings or necklaces.
Video from a neighboring business shows a person climbing off the roof and getting into a waiting vehicle. Another camera angle captured the car speeding away, Garcia said.
Blood and Beauty is a woman-owned piercing studio that employs four piercers and one apprentice. Garcia, who has been piercing professionally for 16 years, opened the business six years ago and relocated to its current location about a year ago. She said the recent expansion allowed the shop to carry its largest inventory of fine body jewelry to date.
Garcia believes whoever committed the burglary either works within the body jewelry industry or knows someone who does.
“You don’t want to think of somebody being close to you doing that. But I don’t really see anybody else that would know that much information or how to get in through the roof,” she said.
Days before the burglary, Garcia posted photos on Instagram documenting a visit to Norvoch headquarters in Los Angeles. Norvoch manufactures 14-karat gold body jewelry featuring genuine stones, and Garcia said products from that brand were among the items stolen.
When asked whether the social media posts could have alerted someone to the inventory in her store, Garcia responded: “Yeah, I kind of feel like I have a big following on Instagram. So, you know, I don’t know who watches me. I think someone just put two and two together and was like, okay, that’s the spot we’re going to hit.”
The possibility that the suspect may be someone familiar to her has made the crime especially difficult, Garcia said.
Fresno police confirmed they are investigating the burglary but have not released additional details. Garcia said detectives have collected surveillance video and the knotted extension cord believed to have been used during the rooftop entry.
Despite the loss, Garcia said she remains hopeful investigators will identify those responsible.
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