Thieves busted into a rental truck on the West Side early this week and stole $120,000 worth of jewelry in the first theft this year that’s been connected to Tucson’s gem show, an official said.
Police urged anyone with information about the stolen jewelry — amber stones set into sterling silver mountings — to call 911 or 88-CRIME, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
Early Sunday, the thieves broke into a truck parked in the 3600 block of West Placita del Correcaminos, which is near the JW Marriott Star Pass Resort & Spa in the Tucson Mountains, and made off with four large suitcases loaded with the amber stones, Pacheco said.
Police don’t know how many people took part in the theft or if the truck and amber jewelry were specifically targeted, he said.
The jewelry belonged to a gem show dealer who had just arrived from California, Pacheco said.
People are also reading…
Each year Tucson police ratchet up enforcement when gem dealers come into town in an effort to crack down on thieves who target them, Pacheco said.
Off-duty and undercover officers work at various sites to catch the would-be thieves, he said.
With the jewelry valued at more than $120,000, the incident exceeds the losses from crimes connected to last year’s gem show when $111,574 worth of merchandise was reported stolen, Pacheco said.
∫
