MT. PLEASANT, SC (WCSC) -
Police say gypsies may be responsible for some recent Mt. Pleasant home break-ins where expensive sterling silver was taken.
The gypsies, known as Irish Travelers, are known to target wealthy homeowners.
Mt. Pleasant police investigators say two homes were hit in the Venning Road area just weeks ago.
According to an incident report, thieves stole $123,000 worth of sterling silver during a break-in on Feb. 24. Items they grabbed included a tea set and silverware.
Cops say three days earlier more than $2,000 worth of sterling silver was stolen from another home in the same neighborhood.
According to the incident report, the suspects even took sterling silver toothpicks.
"They're very quick and very good. They know what they are doing," said Brian Cohn, general manager of Charleston Gold and Diamond Exchange in Mt. Pleasant.
Cohn has had his own encounters with the gypsies in his store.
"As a store, we're definitely on our p's and q's when they come in," Cohn said.
According to Cohn, there's a big reason the gypsies want silver, "The supply is dead right now, the demand is so high, supply is dead. That means prices are gonna drive up, definitely."
Cohn says if it turns out gypsies stole the items from the Mt. Pleasant homes, they may have a hard time selling it, but there are options.
"They could be melting it down, making bars, who knows? It's selling it on the Internet, there's options out there."
Anyone with information on the break-ins should call Crime Stoppers at 554-1111.
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