California authorities investigate apparent multi-million dollar jewelry heist
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - South Bay Gold in Manhattan Beach, California was burglarized last weekend.
The owners say thieves got away with millions of dollars in merchandise after breaking in through the roof to gain access to the store, and even punched holes in the walls to get to a business next door, Coast Music.
Surveillance cameras at Coast Music on Sepulveda Blvd in Manhattan Beach captured a portion of an apparent multi-million dollar jewelry heist.
"You see a thump against the wall, and you see the floor starting to split right next to where a hole starts to form, and it gets bigger and bigger. And then out of nowhere, you just see this guy's face in the dark, poke his head into the hole, look right at the camera, and then keep making the hole bigger and bigger," said Alexander Hosino with Coast Music.
Hosino says the thief was first seen on their surveillance cameras just before 1:00 a.m. Tuesday.
"It was scary. It's scary to think that we're right next to them. It was scary thinking that there were some teachers here a couple hours before they started," Hosino expressed.
The thief is seen sticking his hand through the hole and grabbing cords. At one point, he comes halfway in, but never goes all the way through.
"It looks like he's plugging things into the power strip, just with his hole poking out of the wall, which was very strange to see, and then he just kept messing with cords, so we're only assuming that it was something having to do with power," Hosino shared.
Nothing was taken from Coast Music. The music school has already repaired the damage done, and now hopes this clear shot of the thief captured on their cameras leads to an arrest.
"I mean, I hope they get caught. It's scary to think, you know, about how close to home this is," Hosino remarked.
Manhattan Beach Police are investigating and are asking nearby business to look through their surveillance footage from Labor Day weekend to see if cameras captured the thieves coming to or fleeing from the location.
