Thieves steal $1.3 million in Illinois jewelry store heist, owner says
In a carefully planned overnight heist, thieves cut through a safe and stole more than $1.3 million worth of jewelry from a store outside Chicago, the store owner said.
The burglars worked for nearly five hours during the night of May 9-10, 2025, disabling Internet service to the entire office complex where Rick Kleinvehn Diamond Brokers in South Barrington, Illinois, is located before breaking into the store, according to store owner Rick Kleinvehn.
South Barrington is about 45 minutes outside Chicago.
"They used a wet saw, and the interior where the safe was became all slushy, muddy, just kind of a goo on the floor from them cutting for hours and hours through that steel," Kleinvehn told ABC News. "They had buckets, and they were filling buckets and pouring it on the hot metal."
The thieves took about 1,000 pieces of jewelry -- nearly 90% of the store's collection, Kleinvehn said.
"There's got to be someone who told them exactly where that safe was," Kleinvehn said. "Nobody knew where our safes were located."
The heist appears to be similar to a jewelry store burglary that happened about two weeks later in California.
On May 26, thieves broke into a candy store in Simi Valley and cut their way into neighboring 5 Star Jewelry and Watch Repair. Security cameras showed one of the burglars crawling on his stomach through the candy store before cutting through both concrete and a thick safe, stealing more than $2 million in cash and jewelry.
There's no indication the two burglaries are connected.
Kleinvehn says the FBI is now working with local police to investigate the robbery. ABC News reached out to South Barrington Police Chief Michael Garrison, who said the incident is under investigation and that he has no comment on the situation.
Meanwhile, Kleinvehn's store is slowly getting back to normal. The store is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of the thieves, plus another $50,000 if the stolen jewelry is returned.
