“3 area jewelry store heists may be connected”

3 area jewelry store heists may be connected

Posted: 25 Feb 2011 09:13 PM PST

Three family owned jewelry stores have been robbed and all cases are unsolved. It's the way those robberies were carried out that has investigators looking at a possible connection between all three crimes.

Kennewick, Washington Police released new sketches today of two suspects wanted for a home-invasion and jewelry store robbery. On February 9, Touchstone Jewelers in Kennewick was robbed by three masked gunmen. According to detectives the men went to the home of Touchstone Jeweler owner, Mark Welsh, tied up his family, and forced Welsh to go along to his jewelry store, which was closed at the time. The men stole jewelry but no one was injured. One suspect is described as a Hispanic man, 25-35 years old, around 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, described as a "smooth talker" with "people skills.

"The second suspect is also described as a Hispanic man in, 25-35, 5-foot-10 and weighs 200-215 pounds. The third suspect is described at 6 foot 2 with a thin build, but there is not enough information for a composite sketch. Kennewick detectives believe the suspects may have ties to the Portland area and may be driving a light colored, four-door sedan, similar to a Chrysler 200.

West Linn Police have been working with Kennewick Police for the past two weeks to determine if the Touchstone robbery is related to two jewelry store robberies in Portland. West Linn police report that at this point it is not known if the cases are linked, but they are similar. Sgt. Neil Hennelly from West Linn P.D. said, "It's a pretty unique set of circumstances, but there are also differences and those are things we are not discussing."

On March 25, 2010, LaRog Brothers store in the 13000-block of SE 84th Avenue in Clackamas was robbed. Three robbers wearing ninja masks went to the West Linn home of LaRog owner, Rick Rogoway, tied up his wife and waited for him to come home. When he arrived the men forced him at gunpoint to take them to his closed store, where they stole nearly all of the jewelry in the safe. The thieves then drove Rogoway home, tied him up, and drove off in his BMW.

On November 4, 2009, Ari Diamonds in Beaverton was robbed in a similar way. Three men tied up the family at their home and forced the owner to let them in the store.

None of these robberies have been solved, and tips have been few and far between.

There is a total of $11,000 in reward money up for grabs. A $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects in the West Linn case, a $5,000 reward for the Kennewick case, and an additional $1,000 from the Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers for their case.

If you have any information on these cases you are encouraged to contact the West Linn Police. e West Linn Police has a "Text A Tip" program that allows for anonymous information to be sent to the police, if you have any information text "WLPD then your information" to "274637".

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