KFC jewellery store finally unlucky

4.2 k views | Posted January 14, 2013 | By Emily Mobbs • Former Editor

In a chain of extraordinary events, a Brisbane jeweller was robbed just days after wayward thieves botched a burglary attempt and accidentally broke into the KFC store next door.

According to several reports, two men smashed through a communal wall on New Year’s Eve expecting to enter the family-run Wrights Jewellers store but instead found themselves in the neighbouring KFC store. The pair staged an impromptu hold-up and reportedly left with about $2,600.

Prior to this debacle, the bungling burglars threw spark plugs at the jewellery store windows in an attempt to break the glass and when that proved unsuccessful they mistakenly broke into an Animal Welfare League Opportunity Shop.

The third attempt eventuated in the KFC store break and enter and, not surprisingly, the two men were later apprehended by Queensland police and charged with robbery after a local resident noted their car’s registration plate.

The story was reported internationally with many websites making light of the bungled attempt with reference to “gold nuggets” and other quips.

According to Queensland Police, Peter Welsh, 32, and Dwayne Doolan, 31, were arrested on Wednesday after a raid on Welsh's Woodridge home and charged with the New Year's Eve robbery.

However, the jewellery store, located in Beaudesert, southwest of Brisbane, was not in the clear. In the early hours of Thursday 3 January 2013, just three days later, a successful break-and-enter took place with thieves stealing $30,000 worth of stock. So far, police have found no connection between the two incidents.

“The police don’t think they’re connected, although they [thieves] could well have heard of the attempt on Monday and thought, well we’ll go back and make sure of it this time,” Wrights Jewellers’ owner Ken Wright told Jeweller.

He said that a security camera showed two people breaking through the store’s front glass door before entering the premises. The robbers were reportedly in and out of the store within one minute.

“One [thief] went in very quickly with a metal bar, smashing three showcases inside. The accomplice followed with a plastic tub, both were wearing gloves, and they proceeded to just pull things out of the showcases,” Wright said.

“It was quite a devastating thing to actually see it unfold in front of you when you’re checking the [security camera] recording.”

On a positive note, the thieves may have stolen a lot more items had the store not been so meticulous when packing up for the day.

“We have always been very careful about what we leave in the window overnight. There’s normally no stock, we just put promotional and advertising information out,” Wright explained.

He also says the company’s employees have shown great support and hard work following the robbery, helping to get the store up and running again after one day. “We couldn’t survive without them,” Wright happliy added.