Va. family devastated after their jewelry store robbed in calculated heist

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Thieves have nearly wiped out a Virginia family's jewelry store business. They stole over $500,000 worth of jewelry in a very calculated robbery.

The store that was hit is a local family business. The family emigrated from Vietnam looking for a better life for their three children nearly three decades ago.

They say Stafford County allowed their American dream to flourish and that dream now hanging by a thread.

"Anything that had a nice shimmer to it was taken," said Chris Hutchison, the son-in-law of the couple that owns the store.

It was a calculated heist at the Princess Jewelry store in Stafford.

"We were planning a large sale," said Hutchinson. "Now we have nothing to sell."

All of this was the work of likely more than one thief as they made their way in through a vacant adjacent business. The thieves tore through drywall, cut the surveillance cameras and dismantled the alarm.

They cut a hole in a safe with what police believe were power tools and ravaged through showcases that were packed with jewelry. They got away with gold, precious stones and diamonds.

"They took the important stuff," said Hutchison.

The thieves left behind silver and watches, which have serial numbers that can be traced.

"We moved here 26 years ago," said one of the owners of the store. "This is our dream, our American dream, and we like to have our own business. We started back in 1989 and slowly built it up."

It is now a dream that has now been torn down by what appears to be a premeditated heist.

Pictures of the aftermath show fingerprints and footprints largely covered by chemicals, including foam from a fire hydrant. The damage has taken days to clean by the family -- who are now too shaken up to show their faces in an on-camera interview.

The family is asking for the community's help, especially anyone who saw anything suspicious near the store on Doc Stone Road last Thursday evening into Friday morning that could help police crack the case and lead them to the thieves.