SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – An hour and a half after closing their store for the night, the owners of Queens Jewelers got security alerts through an app on their phones. They then helplessly watched camera footage as four people broke into their family-owned jewelry store, stealing over a million dollars worth of Cartier and Rolex watches and diamond jewelry.
“By the time we got here no one was here and everything was gone, everything,” said Wyatt Rolison, Queens Jewelers store manager.
Aside from the loss of money, Queens Jewelry said they are also losing their sense of trust.
“The money being gone is horrible but it’s a piece of mind as well,” said Rolison. “You would think in the mall you’re safe but now it’s like nobody is safe and it’s mentally draining and devastating.”
Spartanburg police said in less than 3 months, 5 break ins have happened at the West Gate Mall.
Still there are no arrests in many of these investigations, including this case.
Queens Jewelers neighbor, Super Kicks, said they too are having a hard time recovering from a break in recently.
They’re also a small business and said when these burglars steal from their store, they’re stealing from their kids’ futures.
“We are not like a big corporate, we are small business,” said Sahin Iyibas, owner of Super Kicks and Zoie’s Toys. “We are trying to, like, make a future for our kids. When they steal from small businesses they steal from my employees and my kids, it’s affecting all our families.”
The stores that have been broken into said they haven’t heard back from the mall and they’re confused as to how people have access to the building after hours, when the mall is closed.
We reached out to the Westgate Mall and they had no comment.
Queens Jewelers is offering a reward to anyone that can help identify these burglars.
VIDEO ABOVE: Surveillance footage of the burglary
