

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





A family that owns a jewelry store in the Yorkville area is outraged after a man pried a crystal from a statue they erected outside their shop sometime early Saturday morning — in full view of several cameras.

The Louro family, of Louro and Sons jewelers at 104 Avenue Road, tells CP24 that sometime around 1:03 a.m. Saturday, a thief brandishing a small hammer approached the statue outside their shop.

Sitting atop the statue is a 25 pound, diamond-like faceted crystal worth approximately $7,000.

In surveillance footage provided by the family, a man and woman are seen touching the crystal at about 1:01 a.m.

As they leave the area, a man in a light t-shirt and dark coloured pants approaches the statue.

He is seen using a hammer to wedge the gem out of place.

“They just pried it open and took it,” Louis Louro told CP24 Saturday.

“What shocked me the most was how brazen the act was,” Louro said, noting there were taxis, pedestrians and even an ambulance passing by while the suspect was at work prying the gem off its perch.

He said the crystal would be difficult to replace, at any price.

“I don’t know of any others that are available in Canada.”

The family put the statue in front of the shop in December 2016 for the store’s 30th anniversary.

Maria Louro tells CP24 the theft was reported to police but they have not yet come to the scene to investigate.