Masked Men Rob Denton Jewelry Store at Gunpoint

Employees say three masked men

Denton police are searching for three men responsible for robbing a Denton jewelry store over the weekend.

Ehrhart Jewelers off Interstate 35E was robbed Saturday morning by two armed men while a third waited outside in a getaway vehicle.

Employees say the incident happened just before noon during business hours. 

"The owner had just left and she had just pulled out of the parking lot and someone had pulled in,” said an employee who was working inside at the time of the robbery.

The employee said a black man pulled up to the store in a “newer looking” red Buick Enclave and pressed the buzzer at the door. 

When the employee and another co-worker buzzed the man in, the employee said two others wearing masks jumped out of the vehicle and came inside, yelling. The employees immediately dropped to the ground.

Surveillance video shows one of the masked men held up the employees at gunpoint while the other masked man broke the store’s engagement ring case with a hammer. The man started taking the diamonds that were inside the case and also broke open the store’s watch case. 

The store’s owners say the robbers were clearly there for the diamonds. They believe someone was watching the store before the incident since they knew exactly where to go.

The employee told NBC 5 that the scariest moment was when one of the masked men approached the two workers and began taking their personal jewelry.

"This guy stole my engagement ring off my hand that I'd just gotten engaged with,” the employee said. 

Within about three minutes the crime was over and employees say the men tried to break out the front window of the store with a dumbbell to escape, but when that didn’t work, they forced the workers to buzz them back out.

"I thought it was the end, that's for sure,” the employee said.

A third employee was in the store at the time but was shining some jewelry in another room and didn’t even realize the robbery had taken place until it was over.

"I went back there yelling and screaming he was like, 'why are you crying?' and I was just like, 'we just got robbed!'" the employee said.

Police said they are looking into some leads but are asking anyone with information to contact them immediately.

"The clothing is distinct. I think one of them was wearing a Kansas Jayhawks sweatshirt,” said Denton Police Officer Ryan Grelle.

The owners of Ehrhart Jewelers say this is the second time the store’s been robbed since they opened in 1975. Since that first robbery they added the buzzer system and said they will likely rethink their security system again.

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