HOUSTON – Police suspect the men who smashed cases and stole watches at a jewelry store in Memorial City Mall are the same men who committed a similar crime at a store inside the Galleria.
The Ben Bridge store inside Memorial City Mall was targeted on Wednesday. Houston police said that shortly before 5 p.m., three masked thieves used a hammer to smash the display cases and they then grabbed $225,000 worth of watches.
"They thought this out," Officer Jason Angeli said. "They knew where the cameras were, where the fire exits were, how to come in, how to leave."
Police said they believe the robbery was not the group's first. They are also suspected in a smash-and-grab heist at the Ben Bridge store inside the Galleria a few days before Christmas.
During the robbery at the Galleria, masked men stormed into the store, smashed cases and grabbed nearly $400,000 worth of Rolex watches. Customers were inside the store when the men pulled off crime. Surveillance video showed them running for safety.
The stolen watches have serial numbers, so they can be traced, police said.
Investigators said they hope that someone who knows something will come forward before the violence escalates.
"Do they have a knife? Do they have a gun? We don't know," Angeli said. "Luckily, no one has been hurt.