Hours before the Louvre heist, a jewelry store in California was broken into

Question

By just a mere few hours, the Louvre heist was beat by another jewelry scandal but in California. On Saturday, $500,000 dollars worth in jewelry was stolen from a small, locally owned jewelry store in Arcadia, California by tunneling under the establishment. The thieves disabled the cameras and alarm systems before the heist. Almost every case was empty and the entire place was ransacked and destroyed.

Answer 1

Yes, this is true. On Friday night (Oct 17th), a group of burglars tunneled through the wall of L & Z Jewelry located in 1000 block of S. Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia, California, and stole cash and jewelry. This happened hours before the multi-million dollar heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Officers didn't hear about this incident until about 10:45 am on Saturday morning when the owner Feihong Zhoa called in a report for commercial burglary. The officers then determined that the burglary happened between 7pm Friday and 10 am on Saturday. The police statement include that the unknown subjects had disabled the cameras and alarm system before they accessed the roof of an adjacent vacant business and forced their way in, once they were in they then made a tunnel into the jewelry store's safe room, which is where they stole jewelry and cash. Zhao said that an estimation of half a million dollars ($500.000) worth of diamonds, gold, and money was stolen. This case is still under investigate so these are all the details that have been released to the public.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/arcadia-jewelry-store-theft/3793532/

This is where it gives a brief overview of what occurred, it also gave dialogue of what the owner Feihong Zhao thought of the incident. it was written by Missael Soto and Alex Zapata. Missael Soto is a producer with the NBCLA ? Telemundo 52 digital team. Alex Zapata doesn't have that much information written on his profile but he was also co-publisher. I saw no bias in this article, 

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/arcadia-robbery-jewelry-theft-louvre-b2848651.html

This article is very similar to the one I posted above this one. It gives very similar information but this one includes video footage of the damage the was caused and what the scene actually looked like. It was written by Owen Scott who is a US News Reporter, specialized in politics, crime, and culture. I will say this articled did use the idea that this robbery was out of inspiration of the Louvre heist but that is a theory that has been floating around and has not been debunked or proven true. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/arcadia-l-and-z-jewelry-store-burglary/

This is another article that has very similar information, the information is more simplified but gives the overview of what happened. It was written by Dean Fioresi who is a Web Producer at CBS Los Angelas. He covers breaking news throughout Southern California. like the last two articles, I saw no bias.  

Answer 2

True. Other reliable news sources, such as CBS news and NBC4 Los Angeles, have covered this story, and provide the same information as the Independent article has.

CBS Article: https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/arcadia-l-and-z-jewelry-store-burglary/
NBC4 Article: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/arcadia-jewelry-store-theft/3793532/

Answer 3

1. Write a brief overall summary of your findings. This claim is true. On October 17th, L&Z Jewelry in Arcadia, California was robbed. $500,000 worth of jewelry and cash was stolen. This happened hours before the heist at the Louvre. 
2. Primary Sources: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/arcadia-jewelry-store-theft/3793532/#:~:text=NBC%20Universal%2C%20Inc.-,The%20business%20owner%20estimates%20the%20thieves%20stole%20about%20half%20a,according%20to%20the%20shop%20owners. This article has direct quotes from Arcadia police and the store owner Feihong Zhao. It confirms the timeline, how the burglars got in (which was through tunneling), and all the losses in assets. https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/arcadia-l-and-z-jewelry-store-burglary/ This article is CBS provides an overview of the burglary, confirming the same things like the location and timing. 

3. Secondary Sources: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/arcadia-robbery-jewelry-theft-louvre-b2848651.html This article compares the Arcadia robbery to the Louvre heist, making a connection. It has footage of the damage and crime reporters. 
4. What potential biases or interests might each of your sources have? NBC and CBS are well known news outlets with reputations for factual reporting. They are known to be brief and to the point and prioritize stories that will catch people’s eye. The Independent could be bias by linking the 2 heists without any actual confirmed information, just speculation. 
5. What evidence supports the claim you are fact-checking? Police reports confirm the burglary happened between 7 PM Friday and 10 AM Saturday. The store owner reported the theft of diamonds, gold, and cash in total of around $500,000. The cameras were disabled and entry was made by tunnel. 
6. What evidence undermines the claim you are fact-checking? No direct evidence links the Arcadia robbery and to Louvre heist other than timing. The suggestion that the Louvre heist was inspired by the Arcadia robbery is just speculation.
7. What happened when you tried contacting the person or group who made the original claim? I did not try to contact the person because it was an anonymous claim.