Jeweler Robbed in Smash-and-Grab Offers Award

The owner of a Manhattan Beach jewelry store, who suffered a roughly $250,000 loss in a smash-and-grab robbery on Sunday, is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the convictions of the crooks.

The holdup at Prestige Jewelers in Manhattan Village mall at 3200 N. Sepulveda Blvd. took less than a minute.

Two masked men burst in with hammers, smashed display cases and scooped up 20 Rolex watches valued between $5,000 and $34,000 each and diamond jewelry.

Prestige Jewelry owner Abe Asmar told the Daily Breeze he didn’t have the watches and jewelry insured because he thought rates were too high. He said the store was burglarized six years ago, but it had never been robbed in the 32 years the store has been in the mall -- until Sunday.

The robbers ran to a getaway van, which they left at the Manhattan Beach Marriott, where the pair and the driver were seen getting into gray Chrysler or Chevrolet minivan driven by a fourth suspect.

The two robbers and the two getaway drivers were believed to be black and in their 20s. One was described as thin and about 6 feet 2 inches; he was wearing a light-gray, hooded sweatshirt and dark sneakers. Another was in a black hoodie with a logo on it, black pants and white tennis shoes;

A third suspect -- about 5 feet 10 inches with short, curly hair -- had a tattoo near his left eye and was wearing a gray tank top, black basketball shorts, gray socks and black tennis shoes.

A description of the second getaway driver was unavailable.

Anyone with more information as to the names or whereabouts of the suspects was urged to call Detective Michael Rosenberger at (310) 802-5127.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.