Police are searching for a burglar who slipped in through the roof of Nafiseh Jewelry on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills and walked off with roughly $100,000 in merchandise early Saturday morning. The break-in triggered alarms around 2:40 a.m., and surveillance video shows a lone suspect digging through display cases for several minutes before bolting. The Nezafati family, which has run the neighborhood shop for about 30 years, says the loss includes jewelry, silver coins, and Persian silver plates.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the suspect spent about six minutes inside while blaring alarms alerted the owners on their phones. Family members say they watched the crime unfold in real time and even spoke to the intruder through their security system. The owner told reporters the burglar cut the rooftop camera wires, so there is no footage of the suspect on top of the building. The family says this is the second time in six months that their business has been hit.
How thieves are getting in
The owners say the burglar got in and out by way of the roof of the neighboring building, a tactic that lets thieves dodge street-level cameras and front-door alarms. Similar rooftop entries and tunneling methods have targeted other Valley shops and downtown jewelers in recent months. A comparable rooftop break-in was reported at Jean Pierre Jewelers last June, according to FOX 11, and a multimillion-dollar tunneling heist downtown was reported earlier in 2025 by MyNBC5.
Family reaction and repair estimates
Owner Touraj Nezafati told reporters the latest break-in has left the family shaken and worried about safety, and that his parents, who are older, are now thinking about retiring or moving the shop. The family estimates roof repairs will cost about $15,000 and says the emotional toll of repeated burglaries has them seriously reconsidering whether to keep their longtime storefront on Ventura Boulevard. They are working with police, weighing new security upgrades and waiting to see what their insurance will cover, as outlined by NBC Los Angeles.
Police response and tips
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the scene and is asking anyone with information to come forward so detectives can identify the suspect and recover the stolen property. For anonymous tips, residents can contact LA Regional Crime Stoppers at lacrimestoppers.org or call 1-800-222-TIPS.
Wider trend and enforcement
City and county officials have shifted more resources to organized-retail-theft task forces as brazen, high-dollar burglaries continue to climb, and prosecutors say they are filing more retail-theft cases across Los Angeles County. Local merchants say repeated hits like this one are pushing businesses to invest in stronger cameras, reinforced roofs and, in some cases, relocation. For more on county enforcement efforts, see the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office release on retail-theft prosecutions.
