Crime

Jeweler Offering $50K Reward for Stolen Watch

CrimeMar 09, 2021

Jeweler Offering $50K Reward for Stolen Watch

Suspects ripped the Richard Mille chronograph off Shay Belhassen’s wrist while he had lunch in Beverly Hills.

Los Angeles—One California jeweler is now offering a reward for a high-value watch stolen during a recent robbery while he was at lunch.

Shay Belhassen was at Il Pastaio restaurant, an upscale Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills, on Thursday, March 4, when three men came his way.

According to local reports, one grabbed Belhassen from behind his chair, choked him and put a gun to his head. Another grabbed for the watch on his wrist. 

Belhassen then fought the suspects to the ground. 

The gun went off during the scuffle.

The Beverly Hills Police Department said they tended to an adult female victim who was suffering from a gunshot wound; she was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A second victim suffered physical injury during the incident and was treated at the scene.  
 
As for Belhassen, he came out of the scuffle with the gun in his hands, but his watch had been taken from his wrist—a rose gold Richard Mille RM 11-03 Flyback Chronograph that Belhassen estimated is worth as much as $500,000.
 
He’s now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the watch. 

The Beverly Hills Police Department is still investigating the incident. They have not yet released information about the suspects.  

Following the incident, Beverly Hills Police Chief Dominick Rivetti also revealed a number of new security measures to help keep the city safe amid rising crime, including armed, private security guards supplementing the police presence around the city and patrol the business district. 
Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.
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