Thieves steal $2M in cash, merchandise from jewelry store by carving hole through candy shop, safe

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- Thieves broke into a family-owned jewelry store in Simi Valley, California, reportedly taking more than $2 million in cash and merchandise after breaking into the safe.

They got inside by cutting a hole in the roof of a neighboring candy shop.

ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC spoke to the impacted business owners, who shared video of the heartbreaking moment they discovered their store's safe had been emptied.

"Everything in our store seemed normal, and when he opened the safe, there was just a hole leading to my neighbor's store," Jonathan Youssef said.

Surveillance video shows one of the burglars army-crawling through the candy shop before cutting through the wall of 5 Star Jewelry and Watch Repair, just before midnight on Sunday. Getting to the merchandise included cutting through concrete and 8 inches of the safe itself.

The thieves also got away with customers' jewelry that the store was working on.

It all happened as the father, Jacob Youssef, was getting ready to retire. His son, Jonathan, described the break-in as life-altering.

"Everything that he built for me and my family is now gone. His retirement is gone. My future and my children's future is now needing to be rebuilt," Jonathan said.

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While that alone is difficult, he said the biggest loss is losing his customers' heirloom jewelry that he simply can't fully replace. For that, the business is asking for patience and grace from the community as they figure out the next steps.

However, they say they're already feeling the support. The response brought tears to Jonathan's eyes.

"Right when we think we've hit the bottom of where we could be emotionally, someone comes in, a customer offers us kind words, some semblance of hope is restored in me as far as the community is really backing us," Jonathan said. "Our customers are the best customers you could possibly have."

Dr. Conkey's Candy and Coffee next-door also had cash stolen from their safe before the thieves broke into the jewelry store.

The alarm system never triggered, as the thieves remained inside for about three hours.

Both business owners described the break-in as a professional robbery operation, and certainly targeted.

"We're all emotionally affected by Jacob's loss, and as business owners, we worry who's next, because someone's livelihood is gone, and the people who did it don't care," said Ted Mackrel with Dr. Conkey's Candy and Coffee.

Simi Valley police have not released any information about the suspects.