Man slips on $10,000 gold necklace, flees Kay Jewelers in Toms River

A 14-karat gold necklace valued at $10,000 should have been handled like a small piece of luxury sculpture. Instead, police say Jeremy Ruga slipped it on at Kay Jewelers in the Ocean County Mall, ran out of the store and disappeared through the Macy’s parking lot.

Toms River Township police responded at about 7:05 p.m. on Good Friday, April 10, after what was first described as a smash-and-grab. The label did not fit the facts. Nothing was smashed. This was the faster, more intimate kind of theft jewelry stores dread most: a close-contact try-on that turns into a sprint before anyone can intervene.

According to police, Ruga, 38, of Dorothy in Atlantic County, asked to see the necklace, placed it around his neck and fled on foot. Authorities said he was last seen wearing tan glasses and a Fedora-style hat. Detectives later identified him as the suspect and charged him on April 15 with third-degree theft. Detective Ryan Quinn of the Toms River Police Department is leading the investigation.

The case is a blunt reminder of how vulnerable gold jewelry can be once it leaves the safety of the counter. Necklaces are especially exposed because they can be lifted, clasped and worn in seconds, unlike a ring or bracelet that often needs more time and more attention. A heavy gold chain, especially one carrying a five-figure price tag, invites the very kind of hands-on viewing that luxury retail depends on and thieves exploit.

That tension is pushing many jewelers toward tighter try-on rules for gold pieces. Legitimate buyers can expect more staff-assisted viewing, fewer unattended try-ons and more routine ID checks before expensive chains are handed over. The shift is not just about theft prevention. It is about slowing the transaction long enough for a salesperson to stay in control of a piece that can disappear the moment it is on a customer’s neck.

Ruga was being held at the Monmouth County Jail on unrelated charges and was later transferred to the Ocean County Jail after the new charge was filed. The arrest lands in a mall already under strain, after a reported shooting last month and a separate major jewelry-store robbery in March 2024. In a retail corridor already marked by security concerns, a gold necklace worth $10,000 became another reason the case for supervised try-ons has grown harder to ignore.