Jewelry store burglaries might be linked

Monday morning, Forsyth County deputies were called to the Milano Fine Jewelry store, where they found a gaping hole leading into the ransacked business. More than $2 million worth of jewelry and cash was taken, Capt. Tim House with the sheriff's office has said.

Deputies have arrested two men suspected in the most recent crime, which police believe happened sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning. Arrested were Kenardis Demaine Holloway, 32, of Smyrna and Carl Henry Bowser, III, 26, of Atlanta. The men have been charged with burglary and theft by receiving and are being held in the Forsyth County Detention Center

The most recent crime is very similar to one more than two years ago in Cobb County, Rubin said.

In June 2009, Rubin was the first to arrive at the store his son owns the morning after thieves entered through the ceiling and ransacked the place, stealing cash and jewelry. Burglars hit the Topstyle Diamonds store in Kennesaw, and so far, no arrests have been made, Rubin said.

In both crimes, both stores were left with extensive damage and a huge loss, including cash somehow taken from safes.

"They broke the desks, the computers, they broke everything," Rubin recalled. "There was so much glass everywhere. It wasn't good."

The Forsyth County store was also ransacked, House said.

Rubin believes there were several people involved in the crime at the Kennesaw store. He suspects the gold is sold for scrap almost immediately, and the diamonds are sold for a fraction of their worth. He believes others could be involved in the crime ring.

Criminals cutting their way into stores isn't anything new, police said. But what sets crimes such as the ones in Forsyth and Cobb counties apart is the complexity of what's done inside. In both cases, criminals spent a considerable amount of time inside.

Other crimes are not quite as complex, and less-experienced suspects may be responsible, police said.

The city of Cumming has had a string of crimes involving burglars cutting holes in walls to enter convenience stores, according to Cumming police Sgt. Bryan Zimbardi.

On Sept. 4, burglars hit the Beverage Depot II on Ga. 9, stealing cash, cigarettes, jewelry and lottery tickets, he said. Zimbardi previously told the AJC that was the third convenience store hit in a similar fashion.

So far, Cumming investigators have not found any links to the jewelry store heists, Zimbardi said Thursday.

"We don't have any information right now that they are related," Zimbardi said.