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Thief Crawls Through Air Ducts To Steal Jewelry

DENVER (CBS4) - The owners of an Adams County store that sells jewelry and other items say they are baffled by the approach taken by a thief who robbed them on Sunday morning.

Surveillance video captured by Plaza Latina's cameras while the store was closed show a man appearing from an air duct in the ceiling, dangling for a moment and then jumping down into the store.

"To us it really was strange because how did he even know how to get up there? How did he know how to get through the air ducts? Not even we know, and we've been here for 13 years," an employee at the store told CBS4.

The store is located at 7043 Pecos Street and has seen break-ins before, but the method this robber used was a first.

Theft Case
(credit: CBS)

Once the thief was in the store, the security video shows him walking over to the jewelry department and struggling with the display case.

"It took him a good 2 to 3 minutes to get it open," the employee said.

When he finally did get into the case he took everything he could get his hands on. He stuffed items in his jacket and picked up pieces he dropped.

After shopping around a little more he made his way to the back of the store where he emptied a trash can and used the bag to carry the stolen items.

The last camera shot shows him outside casually walking away from the store.

The family-run business says they lost a total of about $250,000 in wedding rings in the theft.

"I think more than anything it affected everyone emotionaly, because everyone works really hard," the employee said.

Plaza Latina's staff is hoping that someone will see the surveillance video and help police find the thief. The family who owns the business said if someone provides a tip that leads to an arrest they could earn a reward.

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