No suspects in Rolfes burglary
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Springfield, Ohio — Springfield police have not named a suspect in connection with a burglary at a local jewelry shop.
Rolfes Jewelers was broken into and ransacked overnight Monday, May 19. The burglars took most of the store's merchandise, according to a police report.
Extras
"(Burglars) usually don't do that type of damage," said Sgt. Brian Peabody of the Springfield Police Division.
Such break-ins are uncommon only because relatively few jewelry stores exist in the area, he said.
"Burglaries aren't new to Springfield unfortunately," said Peabody.
The stolen merchandise is difficult to recover because it can be resold in a different form, said Sam Beloff, managing partner, Rose City Fine Jewelry, LLC.
"You have gems that can be removed, you have gold or silver that can be melted down," he said.
Burglars might take stolen jewelry to pawn shops in different areas or use them as currency in drug deals, said Peabody.
Pawnbrokers won't buy everything that's brought to them and dealers are careful to evaluate the merchandise they're purchasing, said Beloff.
"Doing a pawn is tantamount to opening an account at a bank," he said.
In four years, only two pieces Rose City has bought were identified as stolen, said Beloff.
Anyone with information about the burglary should call the Springfield Police Division at (937) 324-7716.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0360 or vlough@coxohio.com.
