Written by Evan Gabriel
Two men calmly entered a Manhattan Four Season hotel on East 57th Street just before 2 a.m. on Saturday, February 16, and broke into a display case. According to police reports, $166,950 worth of jewelry was heisted.
The theft included a diamond chain and pendant along with two wristwatches from designer Jacob & Company, which were on display in the Four Seasons lobby along with jewelry by designers such as Aaron Basha and Rolex.
Using a sledgehammer, one of the suspects partially shattered one of the 18 display cases located in the hotel lobby while the other man spoke with a staff member, according to Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman.
A suspect was able to break a small hole into the Jacob & Co. case. Yet he successfully made off with only two watches after dropping one.
One official reported that detectives were able to extract a swab of evidence from the timepiece. Along with one of the watches, the suspect dropped the sledgehammer.
An official reported that while the man who smashed the case with a sledgehammer was wearing gloves, the other man was not and left behind fingerprints after opening a glass door during the incident. Detectives lifted three fingerprints from the door.
According to Hotel Spokeswoman Tiffani Cailor, the Four Seasons staff was surprised by the theft and is taking the incident very seriously.
Cailor assured guests and employees that the investigation will continue between NYPD and Jacob & Co, and called security measures “rigorous,” in an interview with CNN.
Police are still working with footage from a security camera at Avakian Boutique, a nearby shop, which shows the two male suspects exiting the hotel and getting into a car.
Owner of Jacob & Co. Jacob Arabov, better known by his nickname, “Jacob the Jeweler,” bestowed upon him in countless hip-hop references, was shocked by the Four Season’s faulty security job.
“How could someone come in there and do that? That’s just ridiculous,” Arabov said.
