Jewelry thieves hit St. Clair Square store in Fairview Heights

At least two men burglarized a jewelry store in Fairview Heights on March 23 in a manner similar to a string of thefts in St. Louis, police say.

At about 4 a.m., police were called to a break-in at Prime Jewelers inside St. Clair Square mall. Surveillance video showed two men appearing to break in through front door and using hammers to break open jewelry cases, Detective Tim Mueller with Fairview Heights police said.

Mueller said police did not know how much jewelry was stolen as of Thursday morning.

He said the suspects were wearing hooded sweatshirts that were pulled over their faces, preventing identification. They were driving a dark SUV.

Mueller said the burglary was similar to a string of thefts in St. Louis in the past two months.

Three other jewelry stores have been robbed in West County in St. Louis since Feb. 1, KMOV reported.

On Feb. 1, a dog was shot and killed during an armed robbery at Timekeeps in Olivette, Missouri.

On March 19, shots were fired inside Vincent’s Jewelers during a robbery in Creve Coeur, Missouri.

Less than 24 hours after Vincent's Jewelers was robbed, Michael Genovese Jewelers was burglarized less than two miles away.

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Jewelry thieves hit St. Clair Square store in Fairview Heights."