Suspects wanted after jewelry stolen in distraction thefts in Halton Region

A Halton Regional Police cruiser is seen in this undated image. (Twitter/Halton Regional Police)

Police in Halton Region are warning the public after three recent incidents where victims were distracted by suspects and robbed of their jewelry.

The latest theft happened Nov. 5 in Oakville, near Lakeshore Road and Nelson Street, just east on Bronte Road.

Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) said they were called to that area at about 2:30 p.m. after a lone female suspect approached an elderly woman and showed her some fake golden jewelry, including a large gold ring, gold bracelet, and a gold chain.

The suspect then allegedly attempted to hug the victim, placing a chain around her neck and walking away.

Police said the senior realized a short time later that her necklace had been removed.

The suspect is only described as female of an unknown race, and 20 to 30 years old with a heavy build.

Another similar distraction theft happened the afternoon of Oct. 19 in Burlington.

In this case, two suspects approached an elderly man who had just parked his car at the Halton Naval Veterans Association, near North Service Road and Guelph Line.

Police allege that one of the suspects, who was sitting on the passenger’s side, expressed interest in the man’s ring before pulling it off his finger. Then, during a “brief struggle,” the suspect also allegedly pulled a gold chain off his neck, they said.

“In some sort of unwanted exchange, the suspects then handed the male with two fake gold pieces of jewelry and fled the scene,” HRPS said in a release.

The stolen jewelry has an estimated value of about $2,500.

The victim was not physically injured.

The other incident happened outside a Food Basics store in Georgetown on Nov. 2. Police have not provided details about this theft.

They did say that in each case, victims had their jewelry stolen by a stranger who attempted to give them fake gold jewelry.

“While the style of theft is similar, the suspects are not the same for all three of these occurrences,” HRPS said in a news release.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact the #2 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4777, ext. 2216, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Alex Arsenych