A man and a woman robbed a jewelry store at Stanford Shopping Center at gunpoint on Wednesday, according to police.
The brazen heist unfolded around 4:27 p.m. when a woman walked into Gleim the Jeweler and asked one of the three employees to show her some wristwatches, Palo Alto police Detective Sgt. Brian Philip wrote in a news release. There were no customers in the store at the time.
Once the employee opened the case and handed a watch to the woman, a man armed with a handgun entered the store and ordered the employees to the ground, according to Philip. The woman drew a handgun of her own, went behind a counter and emptied 25 high-end wristwatches into her purse.
The man and woman then ran out the front door. Police were called to the scene within minutes of the robbery but were unable to find either suspect, Philip wrote. None of the employees were injured.
The robbery was captured on the store’s surveillance system. Police released a still image of the male suspect and expect to release a still image of the female suspect today. Video footage may also be released.
The value of the stolen watches remained undetermined as of Wednesday, according to Philip.
The male suspect was described as black and between 35 and 40 years old. He had a medium build and a beard. He was wearing a navy-colored, long-sleeved jumpsuit, similar to what a mechanic might wear, as well as a white dust mask around his neck and a white Ace Hardware cap with a red brim.
The female suspect was described as black and about 30 years old. She had a thin build and shoulder-length wavy hair, which may have been a wig. She was wearing a United States Postal Service vest over a white T-shirt and dark-colored pants. She was carrying an oversized purse with a floral design.
“It’s not an everyday thing,” Officer Brad Young told The Daily News. “An armed robbery in Palo Alto doesn’t happen that often. When they do, everybody knows about it.”
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the city’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.
Email Jason Green at jgreen @dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at twitter.com/jgreendailynews.