Police say man who swallowed $37,500 gem has yielded lootMarch 8, 2003 BY FRANK MAIN CRIME REPORTERBut Peter J. Mannix didn't leave the store Monday with a gem in a pretty velvet box. It was in his stomach, after he swallowed a three-carat diamond priced around $37,500, police said. He was caught and left the shop in handcuffs. Investigators had been waiting ever since for the loot to make its way through his intestinal tract. Mannix--who allegedly gulped down the stone at a shop on Jewelers Row, at 5 S. Wabash, while trying to switch it with a fake--finally gave up the gem Friday morning, officials said. He is charged with felony theft. Although police do not believe Mannix is a professional jewel thief, there has been an unusual rash of such heists in Chicago. Five diamonds--valued from $26,000 to $65,000--have been swiped in the last nine months from stores on Jewelers Row and the Near North Side, a detective source said. The $26,000 stone was taken last week from an Oak Street jeweler. Among the alleged thieves Chicago police are seeking is Nordine Herrina, who was on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Herrina, who allegedly poses as "Prince Khalid of Saudi," is believed to be in France, which will not extradite him, the source said. He is a suspect in a jewel theft here about five years ago, officials said. Detectives said the cases show that clerks need to exercise more caution in showing their wares to customers. "They lose sight of security in their rush to sell a diamond," the source said. Mannix, 40, of Des Plaines, was arrested at 1:45 p.m. Monday. He was handling a diamond, pretended to cough and handed the clerk back a cubic zirconium, police said. The clerk called police and locked the doors. After he was arrested, Mannix complained of abdominal pain and was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, where an X-ray showed the diamond in his intestines. He was returned to the Central District lockup. Mannix was convicted of theft of services in 1985, records show. He was arrested on the same charge last year for allegedly failing to pay a cabbie $62 after a taxi ride, but the case was dropped. Police did not give Mannix a laxative because a doctor told them it could create medical problems for him. All week, officers poked through his bowel movements, but they did not find the gem until 7:50 a.m. Friday. "Some courageous volunteers went beyond the call of duty," said Sgt. Joseph Petrenko, an Area 4 detective. "They should get a big 'attaboy.' " For those familiar with the three C's of jewelry--cut, clarity and carat--the diamond was a "round brilliant" with a color grade of G and VS2 clarity, Petrenko said. "Some lucky woman is going to have that on her finger some day," said David Bayless, a police spokesman. "As they say, diamonds are a girl's best friend." |
US guy's 'dump' worth $37,500!
by ISP 2 Replies latest jw friends
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ISP
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teenyuck
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!
"Some lucky woman is going to have that on her finger some day," said David Bayless, a police spokesman. "As they say, diamonds are a girl's best friend."
Watch for this one ladies...it could be on your finger!
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qwerty
Thanks for that story, I think!
It 'had' a clearest quality - not anymore if they don't clean it well.
A unique diamond ring with brown inset!
Qwerty