MANHATTAN — Police have released video footage of a Midtown jewelry heist that they believe was linked to a Chelsea robbery a day earlier in which the robbers netted $250,000 in jewelry.
In the video, two suspects are seen entering Kenjo Jewelers, located at 40 W. 57th St., on Aug. 25, just a day after a burglary at Chelsea’s Crown Jewelers International, according to police.
The two suspects are seen entering the store — one of them with a gun pointed toward the back of the store, and a cell phone to his ear, while the other one grips a rubber mallet and appears to be text messaging on his phone.
The man with a rubber mallet tried to use it to shatter the display cases, but was unable to break the glass, according to police.
The man with the gun then demanded an employee to open the case, grabbed some jewelry and fled on foot, the NYPD said.
In the earlier incident, three suspects, two of them dressed as construction workers, were accused of using a hammer to smash through the display cases. One of the men also pistol-whipped the store-owner, Erick Shimunov, 35, who received eight stitches for his injuries.
Shimunov said the thieves made off with $250,000 worth of goods from his store. Police did not say how much the burglars pilfered in the second heist.
