Saugus police seek help in finding jewelry store thief

SAUGUS – The Saugus Police Department is asking for help in finding a man who robbed $10,000 worth of gold chains from J & S Jewelers on Lincoln Avenue last week.Detective Kevin Murphy described the suspect as a Hispanic male between 30 and 40 years old with black hair and a black mustache last seen wearing a blue hoodie-type jacket and blue jeans.”There were seven chains valued at approximately $10,000,” said Murphy. “He was on foot and took off down Lincoln Avenue toward Lynn. We’re pretty sure he wasn’t in a vehicle. He spoke very little English.”Owner Saveria Bosak, 51, was working at the store when the theft occurred and said the suspect was in the store for an hour claiming he was looking at wedding bands.”He tried on wedding bands and the way I understood he was waiting for his girlfriend to come so I let him hang around,” said Bosak. “He sat down and was going back and forth. After reviewing the tape, he was trying to figure out how to open the show cases and scoping the place out.”Murphy said the suspect waited until Bosak was in the back of the store before he grabbed the keys and opened one of the show cases.”This guy ended up walking around, grabbed the keys then walked back around and reached into the cabinet,” said Murphy. “As he was reaching in to grab the chains, (Bosak) saw him on the camera and she yelled and he just took off out of the store.”Bosak said she recognized the man because he had been in the store before and acknowledged that she was a little too lax with security precautions despite having cameras.”He came in before,” said Bosak. “He looked harmless. I just didn’t think he would do something like that. I do have cameras, but it’s my own stupidity. I just trust too many people, that’s my problem.”Looking back, Bosak said the suspect had probably been planning the theft.”He knew what to take,” said Bosak. “He was here long enough to see what he wanted to take.”Bosak said the stolen chains weren’t insured and that the $10,000 loss will fall squarely on the business.”It’s lost,” said Bosak. “It hurts, especially with the economy.”Murphy urged anyone with information to contact the Saugus Detective Unit at 781-231-4037.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter at @MattTempesta.