Three men pull off daring $800k jewelry raid at Aspen Piranesi store using only a screwdriver

Three men pull off daring $800k jewelry raid at an Aspen hotel using only a screwdriver

  • Police said one of the men involved in the theft Friday used a screwdriver to pop open the locked case 
  • About $800,000 worth of diamond-encased jewelry including a pair of earrings, one ring and a necklace
  • The items belonged to Piranesi, a New York City-based business that has an outlet in Aspen at 525 E. Cooper Avenue and a display at The Little Nell hotel 
  • Surveillance footage showed three men with facial hair, with two appearing to be in their 20s and the third looking older 
  • Piranesi employee Veronica Sumner says Piranesi has had the display case in the hotel’s lobby for marketing purposes for more than 20 years

Authorities say three men stole about $800,000 worth of diamond-encased jewelry from a display case in the lobby of The Little Nell hotel in Aspen, Colorado.

Police said one of the men involved in the theft Friday used a screwdriver to pop open the locked case and put a necklace and at least one ring and a set of earrings into a backpack.

The items belonged to Piranesi, a New York City-based business that has an outlet in Aspen at 525 E. Cooper Avenue.

Surveillance footage showed three men with facial hair, according to the Aspen Times. The three men are also wearing stocking and baseball caps along with puffy coats. 

The items belonged to Piranesi, a New York City-based business that has an outlet in Aspen at 525 E. Cooper Avenue and a display at The Little Nell hotel

The trio were seen standing in front of the vitrine before going for the steal. 

‘It was a little lock … a not very secure case and they reached in and grabbed the merchandise,’ Aspen police officer Kirk Wheatley said. 

Piranesi employee Veronica Sumner says Piranesi has had the display case in the hotel’s lobby for marketing purposes for more than 20 years. She added that the storefront in Aspen has been there for over 30 years. 

‘We are very sad that it happened,’ said Piranesi staff member, Tina Taylor. ‘We hope they catch the suspects and find our jewelry.’ 

About $800,000 worth of diamond-encased jewelry including a pair of earrings, one ring and a necklace (stock)

About $800,000 worth of diamond-encased jewelry including a pair of earrings, one ring and a necklace (stock)

Police said one of the men involved in the theft Friday used a screwdriver to pop open the locked case and get access to the jewelry (stock)

Police said one of the men involved in the theft Friday used a screwdriver to pop open the locked case and get access to the jewelry (stock)

Wheatley added that ‘a whole team is working on it, it’s pretty big.’

One of the men is believed to be in his late 20s or older and had a beard while the other two men are said to be in their 20s and had goatees.    

‘We do have some leads that we are following up on,’ Wheatley said.

According to the police officer, the men had to have been in the hotel on Friday to case the place.  

Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn said that the Aspen Police Department received a call around 1.10pm stating that the robbery had occurred just 10 minutes earlier. 

‘The good news is that we captured them on camera,’ added Jonathan Fillman, general manager at the hotel. ‘We have checked the other locks and they are secure. Everything is in working order.’  

Piranesi employee Veronica Sumner says Piranesi has had the display case in the hotel's lobby for marketing purposes for more than 20 years

Piranesi employee Veronica Sumner says Piranesi has had the display case in the hotel’s lobby for marketing purposes for more than 20 years

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk