Thief takes loaded countertop jewelry case from Camden County Kmart

It only took a minute Sunday for a man to casually wheel a shopping cart into a Camden County Kmart store, load it with a countertop display case containing $27,000 worth of gold earrings, and make his getaway, authorities said Tuesday.

A customer at the store on the 1400 block of Blackwood-Clementon Road in Gloucester Township noticed the bandit in the parking lot and alerted the staff too late, township police said.

The suspect, in sunglasses, dark shirt, jeans, and what appeared to be a Ralph Lauren Polo bucket hat, entered the store at 11:06 a.m., township Detective Michael Leach said.

Surveillance video shows him leaning over a counter and cutting a security cable to the rotating case, which Leach said contained more than 100 pairs of 10-karat gold earrings. The man lifted the rotating case into his cart and left the store at 11:07, he said. Witnesses said he drove a blue sedan.

The suspect could have a lot of lady friends. Or he may have other intentions for the jewelry.

"With the price of gold, it could easily be swapped for a cash value or it could be resold," Deputy Chief David Harkins said.

A manager of the Kmart declined to discuss the theft Tuesday.

The Facebook page for the Gloucester Township police (www.facebook.com/gloucestertownshippolice) contains a link to the surveillance video.

Anyone with information may call an anonymous tip line at 856-842-5560 or the department at 856-228-4500, or e-mail police@gtpolice.com.