Casa Grande jewelry heist backfires

CASA GRANDE, AZ - Jewelry thieves got away with all they could carry from a Casa Grande Jewelry store, but little did they know the jewels they took were all fake.

“It’s pretty funny,” said owner Justin Sommers who owns Sommers Jewelers with his wife.

“When they get them into the light they are going to realize what they have isn’t worth anything,” Sommers said.

The burglary took place in the early morning hours on Thursday.

Crooks cut past steel bars and smashed the front door to get inside. Then in the dark broke just about every case, grabbing everything inside.

But the Sommers' put fake jewelry displays in those cases at night keeping the real jewels in a locked safe.

One of their real gold rings might cost $700 but one of the fake ones is worth less than $2.

Justin Sommers thinks people are trying to cash in on the high price of gold by stealing at his store.

And it just so happens the Sommers family owns the glass shop next door, so fixing the glass cases was easier than you might think.

“I guess the last laugh is on them,” Justin said.

He thinks the damage is somewhere around $30,000, far higher than what the crooks got away with, which he says is worth almost nothing. 

The thieves could now face felony charges if they are caught.