Berwyn Police Blotter
Jewelry switcheroo fails
August 19, 2008, 2:40 PM
The manager of “What a Gem” jewelry store, 6333 Cermak, told police a woman came in and asked what the store would pay her for a gold necklace and bracelet, and offered the pieces for inspection. The jewelry store offered $700 for both and returned them to the woman. The woman then reportedly picked up the jewelry, said she’d have to think about it, then set down on the counter a necklace and bracelet identical to the pieces she showed initially. The lookalike pieces were chemically tested and proved not to be real gold.
When police arrived, Esther M. Gonzalez, 30, of 2704 37th Place, Chicago, said she had no other jewelry, then allegedly stated “I tried to switch” the jewelry, and produced the genuine gold items from inside her shirt. She was charged with attempted theft.