The owners of a jewelry store and candy shop in Simi Valley are trying to pick up the pieces after a burglar broke in to steal cash and valuable jewels Sunday night.
The burglar was caught on surveillance video, sneaking into Dr. Conkey’s Candy & Coffee on Cochran Street, crawled on the floor before reaching the security camera and spraying it to block the view.
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WATCH HEREAfter the criminal stole everything from the candy shop’s safe, the person cut a hole on the wall to break through the nextdoor business, 5 Star Jewelry, where the valuables store inside a safe.
“I opened my safe, which was perfectly fine from the outside. And when I opened it, it was empty and there was a hole in it that leads to my neighbor's business,” said Jonathan Youssef, owner of 5 Star Jewelry, recalling the moment he learned he lost over $2 million worth of jewelry.
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SIGN UP Youssef said many of the stolen gems, ranging from gold, white gold to diamonds, were customers’ as they were waiting to be repaired or remade.
“They were the things that we can't replace as heirloom pieces or from family who have passed away,” said Youssef, who took over the family business from his dad, who built the small business from the ground up for over 25 years.
Compared to the jewelry shop, the candy store may not have lost as much money, but a sense of fear, frustration and anger was shared by all in the community.
“We've been here for 43 years, and it's such a violation,” said Cathy Mackel, one of the owners of Dr. Conkey's Candy & Coffee. ”For us here, all of our neighboring business owners are mom and pop stores. These are people's livelihoods. They're everything they have.”
What helped the small business owners hold onto their hope in humanity is their neighbors railing for them, as some people are bringing their gold to donate to the jewelry shop.
“Please, help us to help our neighbors,” Mackel said. “Anyone who saw anything, please contact the police.”
