Surveillance video captured a bold 'smash and grab' theft inside a busy supermarket in East Dallas over the weekend.
The victims fear the group of brazen thieves, armed with a sledgehammer, will strike again if they're not immediately caught.
“We had about, just in one tray, about $60,000 worth of bracelets,” said Angel Cuenca. “We had a $15,000 gold chain.”
Cuena said it’s not the stolen jewelry that hurts; it’s his mother’s American dream, seemingly dashed by thieves in broad daylight on Sunday afternoon.
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The heist lasted less than 30 seconds at 4:41 p.m. Surveillance cameras captured four people, including three masked individuals wearing black jackets or hoodies with red details, casually walking up to Joyeria Princesa [Princess Jewelry] located inside El Rancho Supermarket in the 2500 block of Gus Thomasson Road.
Glass jewelry cases were displayed near the checkout section of the store.
Cuena said his mother, a factory worker, opened the small business in 2009 to help pay for his private high school tuition.
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“My mom had worked tirelessly to make this happen,” he said.
He was helping out on Sunday afternoon when it happened.
His mom had just stepped away to the bathroom.
“I look up, and the next thing I know is I see a guy with a sledgehammer just look straight at me and just starts hitting the showcase,” he recalled. “They targeted the showcase that had the most valuable jewelry, so they had been scoping us out for a while. “It was like extremely premeditated.”
The video shows the man leading the group, who is seen wearing a black jacket with a ‘Guess’ logo on the sleeve, pulling out a sledgehammer and beginning the smash and grab.
Stunned shoppers nearby scattered to safety; some began recording the heist.
Cuenca and a young female employee stood back instead of engaging the criminals.
“They all had their hands inside their pants, not their pockets, but in their pants,” he said. “I was already at a disadvantage, and, if I had done anything, there's also, like, families and kids around here.”
The crooks, each wearing heavy-duty gloves, began removing multiple trays full of gold jewelry from the shattered display cases before making a run.
Dallas police said the thieves left in an unknown vehicle and no one was hurt.
Dallas police will not comment on whether the group is part of a criminal ring linked to similar thefts, including one inside a Houston-El Rancho market last month, which the Harris County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
Cuenca said he is sure the men had "cased" the store and merchandise at some point before the theft and feared they would target more supermarkets.
He also credited their 'inaction' for preventing the situation from escalating and someone getting hurt or worse despite the hefty loss.
"The price of gold is like $3,000 an ounce, that's why it's a very sought-after commodity by these criminals," he said.
Unfortunately, the small business owners opted against costly insurance, citing high premiums in the neighborhood.
“The cost is just too substantial, but, you know, obviously, that's something that we're going to have to rethink,” said Cuenca. “I’m just glad everyone’s all right. We're going to move forward and, you know, try to move on with the American dream.”
Dallas police said ‘this remains an ongoing investigation documented under case number 193739-2024.
