Someone wielding a heavy metal rod, possibly a crowbar, used the noise and confusion of intense wind and rain to cover the sounds of a brazen break-in on Larchmont’s Palmer Avenue.   It happened in the wee hours of Monday morning as the burglar first tried to pry open the door at Wallach’s Jewelry Designs then decided just to smash the window in order to raid a series of display cases inside the upscale store.

Owners Steve and Gina Wallach tell The Loop that seven glass cases were smashed open giving the thief access to “a substantial amount of gold and gem jewelry.”  The individual was in the store for only a couple of minutes and was gone by the time Larchmont Police responded to the burglar alarm, but the damage was done. “I’m happy no one was here and no one got hurt,” Steve Wallach said Tuesday as workers continued cleaning up the mess and replacing the broken glass. “Merchandise can be replaced.”

Wallach’s Jewelry Designs has been a fixture on Palmer Avenue for 27 years and this is the first time they’ve been broken into.  Gina Wallach said the timing is terrible.  “While there’s never a right time for something like this, it is devastating; In the final stretch before Christmas we’re closed.  It hurts having to turn customers away.”

On December 5, the Verizon store, located just one block from Wallach’s, was burglarized in much the same way. Street front windows were smashed. Police report that the cash register was open and empty, and display cell phones were removed.

Larchmont Police say these types of crimes are often more frequent during the holidays. Last year, three local businesses were burglarized close to Christmas

Wallach’s is scheduled to reopen Wednesday, December 20.