Middlebury Police Chief James Viadero said a male wearing a dark hoodie, black ski mask and gloves and carrying a duffle bag entered Sullivan Jewelers at 403 Middlebury Road in Middlebury Thursday, Dec. 11, at approximately 6:45 p.m. He produced a black handgun, ordered the employees onto the floor and began removing items from a jewelry tray.
The man was very calm and stressed he would not hurt anyone. Prior to exiting the store, he smashed a glass jewelry case and removed additional jewelry. Store employees described him as being of medium build, possibly in his mid-twenties and white, which was observed through a portion of the mask that exposed his eyes.
Middlebury Police asked the Connecticut Sate Police Major Crimes Unit to assist in processing the crime scene for forensic evidence. Officers from the Middlebury Police Department were conducting a canvas of the area and are in the process of obtaining possible video footage from area businesses. No vehicle information was provided by witnesses. An undetermined amount of jewelry was taken, and an inventory will be conducted by the owner upon completion of the scene processing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Middlebury Police Department at 203-577-4033. All information will be kept confidential. All employees present at the time of the incident were unharmed. The incident occurred just prior to the normal closing time of 7 p.m.
