Police Seek Suspects in Brazen Hellberg’s Jewelers Gold Theft, Burglary

Marshalltown police are searching for two Des Moines men accused of a fast, brutal break-in at Hellberg’s Jewelers, where thieves smashed five glass display cases and fled with diamond engagement rings, wedding rings, bracelets, pendants and earrings from the downtown store.

Officers were dispatched to an alarm call at 4:06 a.m. on April 4 and arrived about two minutes later at 13 West Main Street, finding the burglary had happened just moments before. Investigators say the suspects used a brick to get inside, then loaded the jewelry into bags and left in a white pickup truck with Kansas plates before police could stop them.

The case cuts to the heart of what makes independent jewelers vulnerable. Hellberg’s has been in business since 1898, is four generations into the same family and says it is the only locally owned family jewelry store in Marshalltown. A single burglary does not just take merchandise off the shelves. It can wipe out bridal inventory that took months to assemble, damage customer confidence and force a store to reopen with empty cases where engagement rings and wedding bands once sat.

Police later identified the suspects as Douglas Allen Baker, 53, and Dewayne Edward Rowley, 59, both of Des Moines. Surveillance reviewed by the owner showed one man casing the rear entry on March 26, and Flock camera footage placed him in town again on April 1. Investigators also said the pickup truck was registered to a recently deceased person and had not been reported stolen, a detail that added another layer of difficulty to the hunt.

Arrest warrants were issued for both men on April 29. Baker later turned himself in and faces five charges, including theft and burglary. Rowley remained wanted. Court records and earlier reports say Baker has prior burglary and theft convictions, while Rowley was most recently convicted of attempted third-degree burglary in 2023.

Hellberg’s website said the store was closed April 3, 4 and 5 after the break-in. For a family jeweler built on trust and repair work as much as sales, those three days marked more than a temporary closure. They were a reminder that the most attractive merchandise in the case is often the hardest to replace.