NL Jewelry Keep Owners ‘Fed Up,’ Shaken Following One more Crack-In

NEW LENOX, IL — The house owners of a New Lenox jewelry once once more final 7 days located them selves sweeping up the shattered glass of their show circumstances.

Gina and Bryan Blaha, of Cornerstone Jewellery in New Lenox, have had their business’ front doorway smashed twice now, in burglaries just months apart. The 1st was in March, the second in the early early morning several hours of Oct. 14.

They’ve taken each and every precaution—the finest protection cameras, alarm system—but there they have been, back again to cleansing up the mess anyone else created.

Law enforcement were named to the retailer, 1876 E. Lincoln Highway, just right before 8 a.m. Oct. 14, but Gina Blaha stated it was about 3 a.m. when a automobile backed up to the store, and a man took a sledgehammer to the doorway. He shattered show instances within, making a few excursions in and out of the retail store, using typically prototypes value quite minor, Blaha stated. A 2nd suspect sat waiting in a car with a coated license plate, and the two fled.

Blaha and her partner opened their shop in New Lenox 5 many years in the past. They shut their 1st place in Palos Park in August, consolidating them into the New Lenox storefront.

“We’re really fed up with the point that we consolidated our two suppliers into just one and this is the 2nd burglary at our New Lenox store due to the fact March, of THIS Yr,” Blaha shared on social media.

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Blaha claimed they were thrilled for an chance to open up in New Lenox, but are commencing to question what other measures they are going to will need to just take to protect their business.

“We by no means imagined we’d have to think about setting up theft bars on our windows, but honestly, that is the upcoming move for us,” Blaha explained to Patch, “due to the fact we really don’t want this to take place again.”

Blaha was speedy to anxiety the performance of the New Lenox Law enforcement Office, noting that detectives in May possibly nabbed two of the 3 suspects in the March burglary, with the arrest of an Oak Lawn person and a warrant out for a Calumet City man. Amarrion Ash, of Oak Garden, was taken into custody June 9, and introduced Aug. 31, according to Will County Sheriff’s data. Marquis Thomas, of Calumet Town, was in custody in Cook County on unrelated rates, and was transferred to Will County. There, a pre-demo release motion was granted and the warrant was quashed. He was introduced from custody, New Lenox police said Tuesday.

The March split-in at Cornerstone was followed by another burglary in late-Could, at Zembar Jewlers. There, suspects made off with an approximated $30,000 in goods.

It’s jarring and disappointing, Blaha explained. She needs all to know the store’s safety digicam can take crystal very clear visuals.

“When compact enterprise entrepreneurs, when we get broken into, it impacts our sense of safety, additional than if a Walmart is broken into,” she mentioned.

Blaha claimed there was a failure in their alarm technique the early morning of Oct. 14 it did not inform authorities at the time of the break-in. As an alternative, Blaha and personnel arrived that morning to uncover their business had been breached.

“We’re just grateful no just one was hurt,” she explained. “We contact it a victimless criminal offense, but compact small business owners are always the victim in crimes like this.

“… That is our livelihood.”

It was the second theft at this area, Blaha said, but the third to their company total. Open for practically 11 many years just before its closing in Aug. 2023, the Palos Park locale experienced also been strike.

Blaha claimed she anxieties the store’s name will go through, with customers experience as however their merchandise usually are not secure there.

“We want to keep on to reassure our prospects that we do acquire each and every one precaution to defend their objects,” Blaha mentioned.

Each merchandise is diligently logged, photographed and stored in motionless safes, she stated.

“Almost nothing of our customers’ is at any time compromised,” Blaha reported. “We never want them to imagine that their objects are not protected there.

“It’s safer at our retail store, than if they got damaged into at home. Our shoppers are our selection a single precedence, for keeping their belongings risk-free.”

An additional crack-in is annoying, Blaha said, but they are relieved it transpired although no 1 was in the retail store and could have been hurt.

“That’s just the nature of the beast,” she reported, realizing that any business enterprise can be focused.

“It’s distressing, disheartening,” she said. “It potential customers to monetary losses for us. Not the jewellery that was stolen we have to change our doorway, the cases, yet again. We have insurance policy, but that is not the stage. We’re all as a relatives, as a group, in there in the morning, cleansing up all that glass, seeking to services our clients at the same time.”

Blaha mentioned the split-in hasn’t transformed how they feel about the total New Lenox neighborhood.

“We’re in this local community, we do not experience like crime is likely to have an effect on us, nevertheless it has—twice,” Blaha said. “New Lenox is a terrific community, we really like it—the people today, how a lot they support the small firms. It’s just unlucky that that is transpired to us two times.

“I hope it stops.”