Vancouver thieves steal $90K worth of rare jewelry

Police officers in B.C. have recovered thousands of dollars worth of stolen jewelry.

In early March a person broke into Panache Antiques located on Granville Street in Vancouver and stole several pieces of rare and unique jewelry. Police were called after the alarm was triggered, but were unable to local a suspect on Mar. 6.

A couple of weeks later on Mar. 21, the same store fell victim to a second break-in. The jewelry that was stolen that morning was worth $90,000.

A video shows that three people were in the antique shop for less than one minute before running off with the jewelry.

Investigators were able to identify two possible suspects, a man and a woman. A search warrant was obtained and executed at the couple’s apartment in Vancouver’s west end.

Police found most of the stolen items at the property, but there is still $60,000 worth of stolen merchandise not unaccounted for.

One of the items is an imperial yellow and gold ring with emperor’s seal and dragon. This ring from the 1700’s and is valued at $7,800.

Crown has approved charges of break and enter, possession of stolen property, possession of a loaded firearm, possession of identity documents and identity theft against 48-year-old Michael Dean Hutchinson.

Hutchinson is a well-known prolific property crime offender and he has dozens of convictions.

His co-accused, 44-year-old Samantha Raymond has already pled guilty to identity theft, possession of stolen property. Raymond has been released pending her sentencing hearing, however Hutchinson remains in custody until his court appearance on May 9.