CLEARLAKE — A local jewelry and antique business was hit by a burglary over the weekend, with an estimated quarter-million dollars in jewelry stolen.
Vince Metzger, owner of The Zephyr Zen, reported his store suffered a burglary last Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Approximately $250,000 in jewelry was stolen, Metzger said.
“I called the Clearlake Police on Sunday morning when I came in around 10 a.m. and there it was … boy! I spent all day Sunday just fixing and cleaning things up,” said Metzger.
He reported that Clearlake Police responded to his call within the hour and took fingerprints at the scene.
Metzger said that the thief or thieves “knew what they were going for they went for the jewelry. They cleaned me out.”
Suspects entered the business through a small barred side window measuring approximately 12 inches by 24 inches, said Metzger.
He speculated that whoever performed the robbery must be “athletic, agile and very knowledgeable about jewelry because they took the higher-valued items.”
Metzger noted that his inventory was rifled through and about 85 percent of the gold jewelry items on display which comprised about 25 percent of the store”s total inventory was stolen.
The business was equipped with a motion detector, an alarm system and cameras, said Metzger, but he added that neither the alarm system nor the cameras were activated.
The robbery will deeply affect Metzger, as the items taken represent approximately 10 years of his work to collect and he is not covered by insurance on the items.
“I lost 25 gold chains, about 50 gold bracelets and several trays of rings,” said Metzger, explaining that each tray holds 50 rings.
The Zephyr Zen has been in business for over 30 years; it”s called Clearlake home since 1989, Metzger said. Prior to this, Metzger explained, he operated two business locations in San Luis Obispo County in both Morro Bay and Cayucas.
Metzger is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s). Anyone with general information about this theft, the thieves or the whereabouts of the stolen items should call Metzger at 994-4749 and, according to him, gratitude will be expressed.
Contact Cynthia Davis at cdavis@record-bee.com.
