The police forces of P.E.I’s Charlottetown and Summerside are currently on the lookout for a man believed to be behind a series of high-value jewellery thefts. Authorities suspect the robber stole a total of $43,000 worth of jewellery from Charm Diamond Centres locations in both cities.
The first theft occurred at a Charm Diamond Centre located in Charlottetown’s Royalty Crossing mall. According to CBC News, a man allegedly requested to view two rings worth a combined $18,000. While staff were distracted, the man exited the store with the rings. Surveillance footage later revealed the suspect leaving in a black BMW 300-series with a stolen P.E.I. license plate.
The second incident took place just over a week later in Summerside, at the Country Fair Mall’s Charm Diamond Centre. Similar to the previous incident, in this case, a man stole two rings collectively valued at $25,000 after asking to view the pieces. As per CTV News, Summerside police describe the man to be “around five feet 10 inches with a medium build and salt-and-pepper hair.”
Police state the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle with a P.E.I licence plate, a black BMW that had reportedly been stolen earlier that day from a hotel parking lot in the Summerside area. Additionally, police are searching for a second suspect, a woman with blonde hair, who was seen driving the BMW. Further investigation revealed the suspects stopped at a Granville Street gas station after leaving Country Fair Mall, where they filled up the BMW and left without paying.
In conversation with CTV News, Det.-Sgt. Darren MacDougall of the Charlottetown police, says a similar theft had occurred at a Charm Diamond Centre in Halifax, N.S.
“These items are… worth a lot of money, and giving somebody the ability to simply manoeuvre like the offender in this circumstance did — yeah, you would certainly want to look at your practices as far as what you’re handing over and how… you engage the client in that type of scenario,” MacDougall says. “The value of these items would suggest that there should be mechanisms in place to protect against this sort of theft.”
