SAN ANTONIO – New documents related to the arrest of a suspected jewelry thief indicate that he intentionally targeted high-end items during a recent crime spree.
>> Serial robber with at least 10 warrants arrested for jewelry theft, SAPD says
Michael Allen Loving, 38, who San Antonio police described as a career criminal with 37 prior arrests, was arrested again on Tuesday.
He is accused in connection with a string of recent robberies and thefts, particularly from pawn shops and mall jewelry stores.
“I would say that it’s brazen that he just walks in, in the middle of the day,” Camelia Juarez, a public information officer for SAPD, told reporters Tuesday. “He will just smash the glass, break it and take off with (the jewelry).
Arrest affidavits related to Loving’s most recent arrests detail how he used that “smash and grab” technique at JCPenney at North Star Mall in October, and at an EZ Pawn shop on West Woodlawn Avenue earlier this month.
The affidavits said that he stole more than $37,000 worth of gold chains from JCPenney and another $45,000-plus in jewelry from the EZ Pawn shop.
In both cases, Loving walked in and specifically asked employees to show him what he referred to as “cubans,” some of the most expensive jewelry in the display cases, the affidavit said.
Police wrote in those documents that Loving smashed the glass cases in both businesses, then grabbed the jewelry and ran off.
In the case of the EZ Pawn shop, police said that Loving also threatened the workers with a gun.
“After he threatened those two employees at the EZ Pawn, he went to dozens of other jewelry stores,” Juarez said.
While briefing reporters on the arrest, Juarez mentioned that Loving had stolen more than $150,000 worth of jewelry from yet another business, although she did not name that business.
Loving was featured in another KSAT 12 News story in November.
He was arrested at that time in connection with a smash-and-grab theft at an H-E-B on South Zarzamora Street.
Police said that he hit someone with his car as he fled.
Officers later found the vehicle abandoned and tracked down Loving, who had shed all his clothing.
He was later booked into the Bexar County jail, then released with an ankle monitor.
SAPD said just days later, Loving cut off the ankle monitor and launched the latest crime spree, which started with the robbery at the EZ Pawn shop.
Juarez said investigators believe there are other business owners who have been targeted by Loving and have not yet reported it.
Other potential victims are asked to call SAPD’s Property Crimes Division at (210) 207-8326.
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