Surveillance Video Shows Brash Coin Store Burglars Before Bust
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - Four suspects are now in custody after being caught at one of the stores they were burglarizing overnight.
The crimes happened at two coin collectibles stores in the southwestern part of the Denver metro area and possibly other stores have been hit recently.
The suspects were arrested at A World of Coins near Wadsworth and Bowles. The other crime happened at All American Coin and Jewelry on South Broadway in Littleton.
Not only did the suspects make away with an impressive amount of coins from the two stores hit, but they went out of their way to damage the stores extensively. They tried smashing display cases and vandalized every room in the South Broadway shop, causing thousands of dollars worth in damages.
"You know, it just kind of brings tears to your eyes that somebody could do something this destructive," said Gabrielle Bergan, an employee at A World of Coins. "There wasn't even anything valuable in those cases, and to break them as bad as they did is kind of hurtful."
In survellance video from All American Coin and Jewelry, the four thieves can be seen smashing their way through a glass door. In video from a different camera one of the suspects is seen struggling with a bolt cutter trying to break into the store's safe. He also kicks at it after he is unsucessful with the cutters.
Eight minutes later the suspects bail with boxes of coins in hand. One even grabbed a candy dish on the way out.
All American Coin and Jewelry owner David Lewis says he's got thousand of dollars worth of damage and a trashed store inside.
"The thing that pissed me off was they tried to break all my showcases out there and threw chairs against the glass," Lewis said.
Lewis' alarm didn't work but at A World of Coins it did. Deputies arrived at 1:30 a.m. Thursday to find the thieves loading coins from inside the store into a stolen car.
"One guy was still going through the cases when the guy showed up and two of them went through the ceiling," Bergan said.
Two of the suspects tried to hide in the ceiling but got stuck amid the tiles. Both were juveniles. Deputies later found the other two suspects -- Quan Nguyen, 20, and Jamy Cham, 18.
Police say they also found an impressive show of coins and items in the car that the theives were driving, evidence that now connects the two robbery cases.
The suspects are being held without bond and will be in court on Friday. The two juveniles are being held at the Mount View Youth Detention Center.
