Armed Robber Steals $200,000 in Jewelry

In the latest in a series of Antelope Valley jewelry store robberies, a gunman took an estimated $200,000 of merchandise from A.V. Wholesale Jewelers of Lancaster early Thursday, sheriff’s deputies said.

A man in his 30s forced a female employee, who was alone in the store, into a back office at about 10:15 a.m. and bound her with duct tape, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said.

The woman, who was not otherwise harmed, was later found by a co-worker, deputies said. Deputies said details of the robbery led them to believe it was unrelated to the other recent jewelry store robberies in the Antelope Valley.