Same culprits pulled off some of the jewelry heists in Mississauga and across GTA: Police

Police investigating a rash of “smash-and-grab” jewelry store robberies in Mississauga and Brampton say the culprits behind the violent heists are likely also responsible for some of the other similar holdups across the GTA and elsewhere.

Numerous jewelry stores in Peel, Burlington, Toronto, Oshawa and the Niagara region (St. Catharines) have been targeted in similar fashion dating back months now.

In most, if not all cases, multiple masked culprits burst into the stores and begin smashing display cases with hammers as frightened customers and employees flee the shops.

Most recently, three teens — two from Toronto, the other from Brampton — were arrested in the wake of a jewelry store robbery in Oshawa this past weekend. A fourth suspect remains at large.

In that heist, four people burst into a jewelry shop inside the Oshawa Centre just before 9 p.m. closing time on Saturday night and began smashing display cases before scooping up jewelry and fleeing.

And last Wednesday night at Bramalea City Centre in Brampton, Elegant Goldsmith Jewelry was targeted by four males at about 8:45 p.m.

The culprits entered the store, smashed display cases and tossed items into a duffel bag before speeding away from the scene in a waiting getaway vehicle, according to Peel Regional Police.

No arrests have been made in that robbery.

The string of violent heists has Peel police detectives and their counterparts in several other jurisdictions comparing notes to see if, among other things, the same culprits are behind some of the violent heists.

“Oftentimes, robbery detectives are able to quickly link suspects to multiple smash-and-grab-style robberies across the GTA,” Peel police Const. Tyler Bell-Morena told insauga.com. “So yes, in some instances the same individuals are responsible for several as they often move from location to location within a short period of time.”

Niagara Regional Police told insauga.com earlier they planned to touch base with Peel police and other law enforcement agencies after two jewelry stores inside the Pen Centre shopping mall in St. Catharines were targeted by thieves on the night of Jan. 29.

Those heists — one was actually an attempted robbery — were deemed similar by investigators to “smash-and-grabs” earlier in January at Square One in Mississauga and back in December at Bramalea City Centre in Brampton.

A late January jewelry store heist in Burlington was also looked at by police for any similarities to other robberies.

Peel police did arrest one man in connection with both the Jan. 17 Square One robbery and the Dec. 8 Brampton heist. And they’re still hunting several others they believe to be responsible for those robberies.

The Dec. 8 Brampton robbery was caught on video (see below).

Peel police Const. Richard Chin said in an earlier email to insauga.com that police in Mississauga and Brampton were “in contact with our policing partners in other regions as we explore all the investigative avenues available to bring investigations to a successful conclusion.”

Given the violent nature of such “smash-and-grab” robberies, police say it’s crucial to collar those responsible as quickly as possible.

“Anytime there are criminals committing robberies, the public is at risk…the faster they are caught, the better the result for the public,” Bell-Morena told insauga.com. “With almost all offences, when the criminal commits a crime and isn’t caught immediately, it’s safe to say that they are emboldened to try again.

“What is important to remember with smash-and-grab robberies is that we work closely with other GTA (police) services and when individuals are caught, they are often quickly linked to other incidents,” he added.