Sherman Oaks jewelry store targeted in tunnel burglary attempt, safe protects gold stock

A set of suspects turned a Sherman Oaks jewelry store burglary into a tunneling job, cutting through a neighboring business and a shared bathroom wall before trying to reach the gold inside Neda Jewelry on Ventura Boulevard. The safe held, police said, and the store’s stock remained protected, but the burglars still fled with some of the owner’s property and left extensive damage behind.

Surveillance video captured the break-in on Saturday, April 18, showing the suspects first entering the adjacent business and then tearing through the wall to get into the jewelry shop. Police believe the thieves were unable to steal the owner’s jewelry because it had been locked in a safe, a detail that underscores how the most valuable pieces in a gold case are now only as secure as the back room behind them. The damage, however, tells its own story: a storefront forced to absorb both the cost of repairs and the shock of knowing someone studied the building well enough to work through its seams.

CBS Los Angeles identified the store as Neda Jewelry and reported that the owner said the business had been targeted before in 2023 under similar circumstances. In comments to CBS, he described the toll on his family: “We are afraid. We can’t sleep. Night to morning, we watch the camera,” he said, adding that he had worked since childhood and felt the losses were deeply unfair. For a family-run jeweler, the crime is not limited to what disappears from a case; it reaches into the routine of opening the door, checking the locks and trusting the walls.

The Sherman Oaks incident landed amid a sharper wave of break-ins across the San Fernando Valley. NBC Los Angeles reported at least 13 burglaries in the area since April 10, spanning Sherman Oaks, Valley Glen, Woodland Hills and Porter Ranch. LAPD sources told NBC that recent crimes may be tied to organized international burglary crews that scout targets, look for cameras and packages left outside, and favor easy access points. In response, Mayor Karen Bass ordered increased LAPD patrols in targeted Valley neighborhoods, including more visible patrol vehicles with license-plate scanners, horse-mounted officers and air support along Ventura Boulevard and nearby streets.

The fear has spread beyond jewelry counters. Nearby business owner Matt Hoch of Sonny’s Handcrafted Ice Cream and Shaved Ice said his shop had been burglarized three times in the past 10 years, a reminder that the same corridors that draw shoppers after dinner also draw crews looking for vulnerable storefronts. ABC7 also noted that Sherman Oaks has already seen another jewelry-store hit, a September 3, 2025 smash-and-grab at Kristof’s Classic Jewelers inside Westfield Fashion Square Mall. In a valley now measuring security by safes, cameras and reinforced access points, the new luxury is not just what sits in the case, but what keeps it there.