In cinema-style heist, tunneling thieves steal millions in gold, jewels from downtown LA
The FBI is now investigating a jewelry heist that involved thieves tunneling through multiple walls to break into a downtown Los Angeles jewelry store over the weekend.
Millions of dollars in gold and jewels were stolen from a downtown jeweler's two enormous safes after burglars tunneled into the Broadway shop through multiple reinforced walls, police said.
In security video of the weekend break-in, a massive drill can be heard carving through the main castlelike wall, making a hole big enough for a person to slip through to enter Love Jewels, Reina de Oro at Broadway and 5th Street.
Los Angeles Police say the thieves on Sunday night cut through a room next to the gold merchant in the 500 block of Broadway. LAPD officials said the owners informed the department that the thieves took about $10 million worth of merchandise.
LAPD Capt. Raul Jovel, who oversees the department's central division, said the thieves tunneled into the building through the Roxy, a small movie theater next door.
'They went for some really thick old walls. They went into one small room and then through a second wall,' Jovel said. 'This was serious digging.'
Jovel said initially it was thought only about $5 million in jewelry was stolen, but officials now believe north of $10 million was taken.
On Tuesday, the FBI's major theft task force took over the investigation, according to LAPD communications director Jennifer Forkish.
In recent years, burglars have entered jewelry stores through rooftops, Joven said. Tunneling, while rare, isn't unheard of. A business in the Fashion District was burglarized through tunneling thieves, Joven said. In Northern California, thieves last summer stole dozens of guns by tunneling into a store.
The jewelry store, which has heavy security, is known for being the source of bling for rappers, artists, and some gangsters. On social media, the store boasts images of personal necklace tributes, gold Rolex watch straps, diamond-encrusted miniature AK-47s, M-4 trinkets, and enormous racks of gold chains.
The theft is the latest in a series of cinema-style high-profile capers that have seen millions in cash, gold, or diamonds stolen while the suspects avoid detection. In 2022, as much as $100 million in jewels was stolen from a Brinks big rig. As one guard and another went into a gas station, a gang of thieves made off with the massive haul within a 27-minute window.
Then, in March of last year, thieves stole as much as $30 million from GardaWorld's Sylmar cash storage facility. Los Angeles police responded to three alarms at the facility during the biggest heist in the city's history on Easter weekend, but the criminals remained undetected.
In the latest downtown tunnel caper, LAPD investigators say the burglars, after entering, cut the security camera feed, and there are no images of them inside the business. However, LAPD forensic experts are examining the scene for fingerprints and DNA.
LAPD investigators examined recordings and determined the heist began about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, but the burglar crew could have begun cutting into adjacent properties earlier. The jewelers discovered the theft Monday morning when they arrived at their shop.
Investigators believe the likely high-level professional burglars spent several hours inside the business. The modus operandi of such a crime has already helped narrow the potential participants in the heist.
Burglars have taken to digging their way into vaults since at least the 1980s. Back then, there was a crew known as the Hole in the Ground Gang that tunneled under three L.A.-area banks, zipping around underground in all-terrain vehicles. They broke into two of the banks, making off with about $270,000 and the contents of safe-deposit boxes worth potentially millions.
Last March, thieves tried to tunnel into a jeweler at the Topanga Canyon Plaza in Chatsworth. According to the LAPD, the owner was working and triggered the robbery alarm despite it being the middle of the night. The thieves had broken through multiple walls in a neighboring salon and another business to reach the jeweler's interior wall.
___
© 2025 Los Angeles Times.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
44 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
LAPD fires flash-bang grenades, less-lethal rounds at protesters
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police lobbed flash-bang grenades and shot less-lethal munitions at peaceful protesters Wednesday as Angelenos took to the streets in a sixth day of demonstrations denouncing President Donald Trump's crackdown on America's immigrant community. Several people said they were struck — and injured — by the projectiles, and some people said they heard dispersal orders given well before the 8 p.m. curfew. The LAPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday night. In recent days, protesters have convened on the city's federal complex in downtown Los Angeles. On Wednesday, however, protesters shifted tactics, and gathered at Pershing Square, a public park about three quarters of a mile from City Hall. There, protesters held a peaceful rally and then marched down Hill Street to City Hall, chanting slogans in Spanish and English, decrying ICE's deportation raids. 'I'm tired of turning on the TV, crying, and seeing families ripped apart,' said Billy Tagle, 45, who marched carrying a huge homemade banner emblazoned with a picture of a heart made up of Mexican and American flags and the slogan 'United we Stand.' He said he was tired of seeing President Trump belittling Californians. 'He didn't even give Gov. Gavin Newsom or the mayor the chance to defuse the situation,' he said, speaking of the protests that erupted earlier this week. 'Right now I feel a lot of unity — we care about our people,' he said, as chants of 'ICE out of LA' echoed behind him. At City Hall, protesters gathered on the building's steps, as a line of police officers decked in riot gear looked on. Some protesters handed water out to each other, others line danced and played musical instruments, chanting 'Peaceful Protest' as officers looked on. Soon, however, the evening took a dark turn, as police began clearing out the crowd, lobbing flash-bang grenades and chasing protesters. People reported seeing officers fire less-lethal rounds and others said they were injured by them. Among the people chased by police was Sara Alura. 'I didn't have high expectations of the police, but it's shocking,' she said. 'A total lack of recognition of our First Amendment rights to assemble and to express ourselves. It's shocking but not surprising.' Across from City Hall, Donaldo Angel Pedro, 25, was decked out in a pith helmet and a tan vest on which he'd painted the words 'Jesus forgives prostitutes, not hypocrites.' He and others fled back toward Grand Park as police unleashed flash-bang grenades. 'They're getting afraid of the crowd size,' he said, gesturing at the officers attempting to hem in the demonstrators. As police advanced, the crowd retreated up into Gloria Molina Grand Park. Among them was Megan Marmon, 32, a Los Angeles resident originally from Alameda. The police response was a reminder of the city's response to the 2020 protests against George Floyd's murder, she said. 'Everything I've seen here from protesters has been entirely peaceful,' she said. But in just a few minutes, she witnessed three people shot with what she described as rubber bullets. 'The aggression from LAPD feels totally insane,' she said. Nearby, a 49-year-old man who only identified himself as Quincy struggled with a bandage on his elbow. Minutes earlier, he said, he'd witnessed an altercation between two protesters. As the two men neared him, he said, police fired less-lethal munitions, and a round caught him just above the elbow, leaving a nasty cut and a bump the size of a small egg. 'If the cops aren't trying to cause problems, they're doing a terrible job,' he said, as a field medic re-wrapped his arm. Moments later, Miles Ma, 31, walked by, and revealed a similar injury on his torso. He'd been taking photos when the police had ordered protesters to disperse. As he turned and ran, a less-lethal round caught him in the stomach. 'They are rude,' he said. 'It's too much.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ohio man indicted by Erie federal grand jury for child sexual exploitation
(WJET/WFXP)– An Ohio man has been accused by a federal grand jury in Erie of traveling across state lines to meet up with an underage victim to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The six-count indictment against 26-year-old Robert A. Pepus of Garrettsville, Ohio, of travelling across state lines to meet up with a minor to engage in sexual activity, creating and possessing CSAM between September and October 2024. Erie, Chautauqua emergency crews searching for reported missing kayaker Should he be convicted, Pepus faces up to life in prison plus 130 years, a maximum fine of $1.5 million, or both, though the actual sentence would be based on the seriousness of the charge and any prior criminal history. Pepus' case was investigated by the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Los Angeles immigration raids protests: 8 charged in LA county
The Brief Tuesday marks six days of anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has announced charges against eight protesters. Hochman says the overwhelming majority of those who have participated in protests haven't committed any crimes. LOS ANGELES - After days of immigrationprotests in downtownLos Angeles and across LA County, county officials charged eight people with violent crimes related to the demonstrations. LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman also noted that the overwhelming majority of the protesters have been peaceful. What we know Hochman announced the charges alongside LA County SheriffRobert Luna and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell on Tuesday. The eight people were connected to five separate incidents. Juan Rodriguez from Gardena was charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and advocating violence during the protests. According to Hochman, Rodriguez passed out commercial-grade fireworks to protesters, and he and they lit them and pointed them at officers. One of the fireworks, Hochman said, injured an officer. Rodriguez faces up to six years and four months in state prison. SUGGESTED: Timeline: ICE detentions and protests in California - LA and San Francisco Bay Area Randy Paul Ruiz and Georgina Ravellero were both charged with two felony counts of assaulting an officer. They're both accused of ramming into officers with motorcycles at the intersection of Temple and Alameda streets on June 8. They both also face up to six years and four months in state prison. Timmie Paulk and Raven Mitchell were charged with commercial burglary and grand theft. Hochman said that on June 8, Paulk was one of several people looting the Nike store on S. Broadway, and Mitchell allegedly drove the getaway car. They face up to three years in state prison. Ulysses Sanchez was arrested for allegedly doing donuts in his minivan in downtown LA. Hochman said Sanchez is a "third-striker," and faces 25 years to life in state prison if convicted. And finally, Christopher Gonzalez and Yoselyn Johnson have received vandalism related charges. Hochman accused Gonzalez of painting graffiti on the Hall of Justice. They both face more than three years in state prison. By the numbers Before he announced the charges on Tuesday, Hochman noted that the peaceful protests across Los Angeles vastly outweighed the violence, blaming media for skewing the image of the protests. "If you only saw the social media and the media reports of what's going on over the last five days, you would think that Los Angeles is on the verge of war, that we are truly being attacked repeatedly, over and over and over again, because that has been the media's message," Hochman said. While he only used rough estimates, Hochman said there were "thousands" of people who had been involved in protests across LA County over the last five days. Of those thousands, Hochman said, only a few hundred had "engaged in this kind of illegal activity," Hochman said. "That means that 99.99% of people who live in Los Angeles City or live in Los Angeles County have not committed any illegal acts in connection with this protest whatsoever," Hochman said. Big picture view Several others have been charged with federal crimes for violence at protests, including one man charged with throwing Molotov cocktails at a demonstration in Paramount. SUGGESTED: LA ICE protests, Day 6: 2 men face federal charges for violence during anti-ICE protests What's next Hochman said that there are still dozens of cases being brought to his office for filing consideration, and said that he's confident there will be more charges. "For any individual who's engaged in criminal conduct but did not get immediately arrested, let me provide some bad news for you. There's a tremendous amount of video out there through social media, and otherwise," Hochman said. "We will know who you are, who engaged in this conduct. We will track you down, we will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will punish you." The Source Information in this story is from a press conference held by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on June 11, 2025, and previous FOX 11 reports.
