NYPD detectives are searching for three men they said broke into the Queens home of a couple who run a pair of Jackson Heights jewelry stores and made off with more than $3.2 million in jewelry, nearly seven pounds of gold and thousands of dollars in cash.
Detectives are backtracking through surveillance videos and conducting an extensive area search to find the suspects, captured on camera committing the burglary on the afternoon of Oct. 16, an NYPD spokesman said.
No one was home at the time of break-in, which took place at a home near the intersection of 160th Street and 84th Drive in the Briarwood sectiom of Queens, the police said. A woman who lives at the home discovered it ransacked after the burglary and called 911, stating that her parents and sister also live at the location.
According to the complainant, the parents run two jewelry stores in Jackson Heights and had jewelry in the safe, as well as 50,000 in cash, police said. An additional three kilograms of gold, about 6.8 pounds, and the cash were also taken from a safe in the bedroom, according to investigators. The NYPD did not provide the names of the jewelry stores.
According to the NYPD, the suspects sped away from the scene in a blue Hyundai Elantra to “parts unknown.”
Police also released surveilance images of the suspects, two ot whom were clad in what officials described as construction jackets and vests.
One individual wore a white construction hat, a neon construction vest, protective eye wear and carries a black backpack. A second man was also clad in the same color construction vest and hat, as well as protective eye wear and a black backpack.
The third suspect wore a white hoodie sweater, black pants, black gloves, grey sneakers and was the driver of the Elantra, according to the NYPD.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). All calls are kept strictly confidential.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.