Stratford police are looking for the public’s help after a local jewelry store was robbed for the second time in less than a year.
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Police said an unknown male went to Paris Jewelers at the Stratford Mall around 5:30 pm on Tuesday and allegedly took an unknown amount of jewelry before fleeing on foot. He was last seen running west on Ontario Street toward CH Meier Boulevard.
No damage was caused and no injuries were sustained as a result of the reported robbery.
Police are looking for a black male with a light complexion, approximately six-feet tall with a slim build and black hair in dreadlocks. He was wearing a white zip-up sweater or coat, a black T-shirt and dark pants.
Anyone with information is requested to contact the Stratford Police Service or Crime Stoppers.
Police said Tuesday’s alleged robbery wasn’t connected to the January heist in which four suspects stole more than $100,000 worth of items in a brazen smash-and-grab that was filmed by a bystander at the mall. The suspects smashed multiple glass display cases were in and out of the store in less than a minute before fleeing the mall.
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“It’s absolutely a scary situation, but I think it’s important to recognize and realize these things can happen anywhere and any given time,” Stratford Const. Darren Fischer said at the time. “It’s important to be aware of your surroundings and be aware of how you deal with a situation like that. The way the employees in the store handled it was a safe and appropriate manner. They avoided contact, moved out of the way of the individuals involved and they allowed the situation to unfold in whatever way it needed to.”
Two suspects in that incident were arrested the following day in Niagara Falls, and police reportedly recovered and returned more than $135,000 of jewelry to the Stratford store. One of the men was also allegedly in possession of a 9mm handgun, police said, though weapons were reported to have been used in that robbery other than the instrument used to smash the glass.
An unknown amount of jewelry from that robbery remains unrecovered, and two other suspects are still unidentified.
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