NORFOLK -- "We believe it was taken during burglaries," says Officer Chris Amos, referring to several pieces of jewelry. "We just don't have victims."
Norfolk detectives recovered the jewelry in mid-February. Someone pawned the items during the course of a few days. They include a locket with photos, a watch, a pendant with the name "Melissa," and a coat of arms that has red and white enameling.
"From looking at the jewelry, you know they're sentimental," Amos notes. "They mean something to someone."
Officers think the person or people responsible for stealing them could be connected to home burglaries in Chesapeake, Hampton, Virginia Beach, and York County. The burglaries would have taken place between the beginning of this year and that mid-February mark when they turned up in a pawn shop.
"That's what burglars do," Amos says. "If they're not doing it on the black market, so to speak, you know, they're going to the pawn shops."
"We're probably the best line of defense for the public," Linda Bress of Bress Pawn & Jewelry tells 13News. "You ask questions and, you know, you just have, I guess, after awhile, you have a sixth sense if something doesn't feel right, sound right, look right."
If the heightened awareness fails to spot a burglar trying to make a quick buck, Bress explains pawn shops are required to log purchases they make and report those transactions daily to the police department's Pawn Squad. Detectives there may pick up any deals that aren't on the up-and-up.
"They just don't think about it," Bress says. "Thieves don't think about a lot of things, or else, they probably wouldn't be doing what they're doing."
Police ask for help in identifying the jewelry detectives recovered. If you are the owner of any of the pieces, or know the owner, you can contact the Norfolk Police Burglary Section at 664-7011 or Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
