Thieves ram car into California jewelry store, run off with $300,000 worth of merchandise

LA VERNE, Calif. -- Shocking surveillance video captured the moment a group of suspects crashed a car into a La Verne jewelry store during a wild robbery.

It happened just after 12 p.m. on Saturday at Rodeo Jewelers on Foothill Boulevard.

Footage shows a white car suddenly smashing into the store, shattering the front glass windows.

Police said that's when four men went into the store, shattered several display cases and started filling bags with jewelry. They got away with about $300,000 worth of merchandise.

One of the suspects used a chair to attack the store's owner, according to police. The owner said he had to have seven stitches due to his injuries but is expected to be ok.

"It tends me to believe that there's been other crimes committed that maybe aren't exactly like this, but they've sort of tested tactics," said La Verne PD Lt. Cory Leeper. "They are getting more and more brazen."

Police said all four suspects got away in a black 2013-2015 Nissan Altima with silver and black aftermarket rims that was parked nearby.

A few days earlier, a similar smash-and-grab robbery occurred just a few miles away at Diamond Center in Claremont. Three men wearing ski masks, armed with hammers, ransacked the store.

La Verne detectives are now investigating if the two cases are connected.

Given the suspects' calculated crime, investigators want to track them down before the violence escalates even further.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact the La Verne Police Department.