Thieves cut through wall, safe to steal $1.3 million in jewelry in Illinois

Robbers cut through a wall and the back of a safe at a South Barrington, Illinois, jewelry store last month and swiped its gems.

The owner suspects someone must have tipped them off prior to the theft, which took place sometime between May 9 and 10.

“There’s got to be someone who told them exactly where that safe was. Nobody knew where our safes were located,” store owner Rick Kleinvehn told ABC News on Friday.

About 1,000 pieces worth more than $1.3 million and representing nearly 90% of his store’s inventory were taken.

In addition to the jewelry, the thieves stole the digital video recorder that would have recorded the crime, according to Chicago’s WLS-TV. The suspects also disabled the internet in the shopping complex where Rick Kleinvehn Diamond Brokers is located, leading up to their hours-long heist.

South Barrington Police Chief Michael Garrison told ABC News that the incident is being investigated and that he had no further comment.

Using a wet saw, which cuts hard material, the robbers got through the store’s wall, then through the safe’s 1-inch-thick steel walls.

“It was people that had the equipment and knew exactly what they were doing,” Mr. Kleinvehn said.

He’s offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case. An additional $50,000 is being offered for the successful recovery of the stolen jewelry.

Replacing the inventory, he said, will take a lot of time.

“I was devastated. We have a great staff here. We all work very hard and we travel across the country constantly, and to replace everything in there is tens of thousands of hours of work. It’s a lot of lost time and money,” Mr. Kleinvehn told Chicago’s WFLD.