Two suspects in La. jewelry heist sought

COVINGTON, La., Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Police in St. Tammany Parish, La., say they are searching for two men suspected of stealing more than $1 million in jewels from an area business.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain said the jewelry was stolen from a J.C. Penney store in Covington, La., last weekend by two men who apparently used "sophisticated" methods to enter the department store, New Orleans' WWL-TV reported Thursday.

"From my viewpoint, it was incredibly sophisticated," Strain said regarding last Saturday's theft.

The suspects, who remain unidentified, are also wanted in connection with a string of similar thefts, including one in Lafayette, La., on Sunday.

The other thefts linked to the two suspects include a June theft in Indiana and two July thefts in Texas. Specific details regarding those thefts were not reported.

Strain told WWL-TV the suspects, both black males, keep their faces covered and enter the stores by using ropes to lower themselves from the sites' rooftops.