Fourth daylight robbery
has merchants in uproar
PHILIPSBURG--Another daring daytime robbery in Philipsburg on Thursday has merchants on Front Street on edge.
Two armed and masked bandits smashed the glass showcase in Park Avenue jewellery store with hammers around midday yesterday and gathered up about 40 gem-encrusted gold chains and rings before fleeing the scene.
The value of the lot was not immediately available.
Yesterday’s robbery was the latest in a string of four such robberies perpetrated in the past two months that have sent waves of fear into jewellery merchants operating in the island’s most frequented shopping district.
Merchants were upset about the length of time police took to respond to yesterday’s robbery and said they felt “unprotected” and “unsafe.” They noted that whereas the robbers had struck around noon, the first police patrol had not arrived on the scene until around 12:45pm to question witnesses.
The police said they could not have gone to the scene any faster than they had, due to the bulk of cases with which they were dealing. “The problem is that the patrols were busy handling other cases at the time and could not respond immediately,” police spokesman Inspector Ricardo Henson explained.
The tactics used by the two young robbers apparently have become the modus operandi for these crimes. Their strategy was similar to that employed in the three prior cases, The Daily Herald understands from talking to workers at the store.
“There were two men who came in … and broke the display,” a shocked worker said, explaining that the robbers had been armed and masked, very much like in the previous robberies.
They were not wearing masks until the moment they stepped into the store located opposite Pasanggrahan Hotel. That’s when the young men slipped on the masks, drew their guns, smashed the glass showcase and collected the jewellery before fleeing, workers recalled. There were at least five customers in the store at the time in addition to the four employees.
The only differences between yesterday’s crime and the most recent and reportedly most unusual case before that were that the crooks did not use a disabling chemical (believed to have been either mace or pepper spray) to disable the store occupants and did not leave behind a stolen vehicle.
It was observed that a Hyundai Getz with French licence plates was parked on the edge of the sidewalk in front of the store’s entrance, but the vehicle could have belonged to anyone.
Yesterday’s daring robbery was also the first of the recent string of similar robberies to be committed on a weekday; the others were perpetrated on Saturday or Sunday.
The thieves vanished into the wave of people milling through Front Street on a moderately busy Thursday afternoon. Tourists passed up and down the street, remarking to each other in whispers about the police car parked on the side of the street with flashing red lights.
Other merchants are at their wits’ end worrying about safeguarding their businesses and assert that there is a general feeling of uncertainty looming among store owners. “It’s frustrating to see this happen at 12 o’clock,” said a jewellery merchant operating out of a nearby store.
Another infuriated merchant chided authorities and justice personnel and suggested that the businesses should cease paying taxes until they felt safe operating. “If they can’t protect us, why are we paying taxes?” the man asked angrily while others in the store were discussing the crime and consoling the victims.
Prestige Jewellers was thrown into a state of chaos last week after thousands of dollars worth of jewels was stolen from the store on a Sunday afternoon. Just up the road, Helena Jewellers had been robbed twice in nearly identical ways since February 9. They have since hired security to stand watch outside the premises during the day.
Prestige has reopened after shutting down for several days following the crime.
Authorities are investigating these cases.
