An indictment was filed in court by the police prosecution unit against a 60-year-old Holon resident for several jewelry thefts from businesses in Jerusalem and central Israel.
Residents of the Ramot neighborhood in Jerusalem have been waiting for this news for a long time.
The defendant, who was arrested on Sunday this week by police detectives from Jerusalem in his city of residence, was transferred for questioning at the Lev HaBira police station and his detention was extended in court in order to complete his investigation into his criminal acts.
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The investigation of the cases and the facts of the indictment indicate that on March 10, the owner of a jewelry store in the Old City of Jerusalem complained that in late February a 'customer' had entered the store who was interested in purchasing jewelry. In addition, the 'customer' was interested in the price and quality of several pieces of jewelry that were presented to him, apparently in order to estimate the value of the piece of jewelry that had become a target for theft on his part.
Due to the time, the store owner began taking steps to close the business while inviting the curious 'customer' to return to the store the next day.
At this point, the defendant took advantage of the store owner's preoccupation with closing operations, took possession of silver and gold necklaces and earrings worth thousands of shekels, quickly left the store without missing a kiss on the mezuzah - and disappeared.
Because the store owner was in a hurry to close it, he didn't notice that the jewelry stand had been stolen. It wasn't until a few days later that he noticed it and complained to the police, who immediately opened an investigation.
In another case, on the evening of April 14, the police received a report of jewelry theft from a store in downtown Jerusalem. Police from the Lev HaBira police station were called to the scene. The investigation of the case revealed that a customer who entered the store was interested in purchasing various pieces of jewelry.
During his stay in the store, the 'customer' took advantage of a situation where the store owner came over to bring a piece of jewelry to show him, reached under the glass of the display table and took possession of 10 gold bracelets worth a large sum of money, estimated at tens of thousands of shekels. Immediately afterwards, he left the place.
Following his surprising departure from the store, the salesperson became suspicious and immediately reported the incident to the police. During the searches conducted by the police, the suspect in the act was not located and an investigation was opened.
About two months later, on June 3, the owner of a jewelry store in central Jerusalem complained that during the month of April, a 'customer' entered the store at noon and was interested in jewelry. About 20 minutes later, the 'customer' left the store but returned again later, sat down and talked with the salesperson while he served other customers.
In the process, the defendant took advantage of an opportunity for inattention and took possession of a gold necklace studded with diamonds worth approximately $8,000. After the act, the defendant left the store and disappeared, as had happened in previous cases.
Following this incident, an investigation was also opened and efforts were made to locate the suspect, whose identity was not yet known.
A significant development in the investigation of the cases occurred following a complaint about an identical case that occurred earlier this month in the Tel Aviv area.
On June 6, a store owner complained that the day before, a suspect who took advantage of a "gym hour" had entered her business and taken possession of a tray of silver and gold rings worth thousands of shekels, and quickly left the store.
Following her complaint and a picture from the business's security camera, investigative and intelligence officials in the Tel Aviv district were able to reveal the identity of the 'customer'. The accused, and information about him was also transferred to the Lev Habira station in Jerusalem, as part of the investigation into the cases in the capital.
At this point, an arrest warrant was issued by the court against the defendant, and police detectives arrived at his residence in Holon, where he was arrested and taken for questioning.
The suspect's detention was extended by the court at the request of the police, and his investigation was exhausted and culminated, as stated, in the indictment filed against him yesterday by the prosecution unit for the offense of theft in the four cases, along with a request from the court to order his continued detention until the end of the legal proceedings.
Deputy Chief Lior Ben Shalom, the investigations and intelligence officer at the Lev HaBira police station: "The defendant apparently took advantage of the lack of attention of the owners of the premises while he was in those businesses, while waiting for the most appropriate moment to carry out the theft. His actions caused great financial damage to those businesses, and it is not inconceivable that he chose to commit most of the cases outside of his area of residence, in order to make it difficult to identify him.".
As evidence, after he committed the act in the center of the country, thanks to intelligence operations by the Tel Aviv District police, the identity of the serial thief was revealed and the path was paved to locating and bringing him to justice.".
