WASHINGTON – Masked robbers took off with an unspecified amount of property from a Cartier jewelry store in Chevy Chase Tuesday and then led police on a high-speed chase that ended with a Metropolitan police officer injured in a crash.
Montgomery County police say multiple suspects entered and took control of the store in a stretch of high-end retail shops in the 5400 block of Wisconsin Avenue shortly after 11 a.m. The suspects, who were wearing gloves, broke a display case, removed some property and fled in a waiting car.
“The whole crime took less than one minute,” says police spokesman Captain Paul Starks.
Four employees were inside the story at the time of the heist. They were not hurt, police say.
Police officers responding to the scene saw the robbers leaving the store and chased them to the Washington, D.C., line, Montgomery County police say.
D.C. police took up the pursuit, which ended when the officer was hurt in the crash in Southeast.The officer was in stable condition Tuesday afternoon.
The suspects escaped, police say.
Police say they were travelling in a late model black Dodge Charger with two different license plates.
Investigators will be looking both inside Montgomery County and around the Beltway for similar crimes, Starks says.
In March, four masked robbers took more than $600,000 worth of Rolex watches from a jewelry store at Pentagon City Mall.
Police ask anyone with information about the Cartier robbery or possible suspects to call the robbery section at 240-773-5100 or call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
WTOP’s Andrews Mollenbeck contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
