JACKSONVILLE – A jewelry heist in Brunswick, Ga., Tuesday morning led to a two-state police effort that ended in North Jacksonville.
For nearly three years, members of the FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and several other agencies tell Eyewitness News that they have been trying to track down suspected jewel thieves.
Authorities say the accused bandits have hit at least a dozen stores in Florida and Georgia during that time period. Police believe that they have the suspects in custody following the incident in Brunswick.
At 11:30 Tuesday morning, police say that five suspects allegedly held up Reed's Jewelers at the Colonial Mall in Brunswick.
During the robbery, a display case was smashed with a sledgehammer, but no one was hurt and no weapons were seen.
The suspects reportedly fled in one car, dumped it, and jumped into a second car, then headed south on Interstate 95. Camden County deputies gave chase, and collected evidence that the suspects threw out of the car.
As the suspects' vehicle crossed into Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol was told what to look for. One trooper spotted the car continuing to head south but could not pursue it.
That car -- a Chevrolet Malibu -- stopped at Imeson Industrial Park off Main Street near Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville, where it appeared that the suspects were apparently attempting to steal another vehicle when Jacksonville Sheriff's Office deputies arrested them.
Glynn County police say what happened Tuesday fits the same profile of at least a dozen other robberies in Florida and Georgia over the past three years.
"Similar MOs, several younger black males entering into a store, a mall, Service Merchandise, Reed's Jewelers, the jewelry stores that carry the high-end watches," Glynn Co., Ga. police spokesman Michael Del'Acqua says. "Smashing out the display glasses, raking up the Rolex watches and leaving the scene. One thing that's consistent with the other ones is that a vehicle was stolen either in close proximity or within a short period of time prior to the robbery and it was abandoned within a mile or so after the robbery."
Five adults and one teenager are in custody. No charges have been filed. Police say that the suspects could come from as far away as Miami.