Diamonds are a Robber's Best Friend

A trio of robbers stole about $500,000 worth of engagement rings from a jewelry store in Bay Terrace, Queens. Though Alicia's Jewelers keeps its front door locked, a female robber was let in while posing as a customer. After 30 minutes where she was helped by an employee, looked at jewelry, and made cellphone calls, she opened the door for two masked accomplices. After making the employees lie on the floor, the trio went straight for the engagement section and took rings with four- and five-carat rocks.

An employee told the Daily News, "Believe me, when you're on the floor, it seems like an eternity. Jewelry is good, but life is more important."
Owner Lena Briskin said, "It happened very quickly. They took the sledgehammer and broke the glass, took everything and left. It was just like something you see in the movies." As it happens, the NY Times reports that a jewelry heist was filmed at another store a couple block away (but Alicia's Jeweler's last robbery was 10 years ago). And if you guessed that the car the robbers used to get away was stolen, you have seen a lot of movies and crime serials.