More than $1 million in jewelry has been stolen from a store on a historic plaza in Santa Fe as crowds gathered for a holiday tree-lighting festival outside. 
 
 Santa Fe police Lt. Michele Williams said Tuesday that 11 items of jewelry were taken from an unlocked case in a store bustling with shoppers. 
 
 Santa Fe police are attempting to identify a trio of suspects involved in the Friday heist. According to authorities, suspects are a woman and two men. 
 
 
 
 They said they were in the store in the weeks before the theft asking questions about how much the jewelry was worth. 
 
 Police distributed images of the suspects taken from security camera footage on the day of the theft and in the weeks leading up the robbery. 
 
 Williams said the jewelry was removed between 5:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. the night after Thanksgiving. Jewelry store employees discovered items were missing at about 6 p.m. 
 
 Investigators are seeking help from the public to crack the case. Santa Fe police can be reached at 505-428-3710. 
 
 Show Transcript Hide Transcript ALIKHANI IS TALKING TO OTHER SHOPS WHO ARE WORRIED THEY COULD BE NEXT. THE PLAZA IS A VERY SMALL COMMUNITY. EVERYBODY HERE KNOWS SOMEBODY ELSE, SO IT'S A FAMILY ASPECT AND IT'S CONCERNING WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ANOTHER MERCHANT DOWNTOWN. LIDA: TONY SANCHEZ IS THE GENERAL MANAGER AT ORTEGA'S JEWELRY SHOP ON THE PLAZA. JUST A FEW DOORS DOWN POLICE SAY THIEVES PULLED OFF A BOLD ROBBERY AT DIVA DIAMONDS AND JEWELS. IT WAS OPEN AND BUSY DURING THE CITY'S ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING WHEN THE CROOKS USED THE CROWDS TO THEIR ADVANTAGE. POLICE SAY TWO MEN AND ONE WOMAN SCOPED OUT THE STORE WENT IN AND , TOOK $1 MILLION WORTH OF JEWELRY FROM THE DISPLAY CASE WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING. SANCHEZ SAYS THAT'S VERY SCARY. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tony Sanchez is the general manager at Ortega’s Jewelry Shop on the plaza, a few doors down from Diamonds and Jewels, where the robbery took place. He said though it’s scary, he plans to talk to his employees about being aware of people coming in and out of the store. 
 
 But he said he’s more concerned for them than the store. 
 
 “I’m more concerned for them than the store,” he said, adding his heart goes out to his neighbor. ||||| .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... 
 
 SANTA FE – The Santa Fe Police Department is looking for three thieves said to have stolen more than $1 million worth of merchandise from a Plaza jewelry store during a popular holiday celebration. 
 
 According to Lt. Michele Williams, three suspects – two men and a woman – went into Diva Diamonds & Jewels on the Plaza between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m. on Friday, during the city’s crowded annual Plaza holiday lighting event, and took 11 valuable items while employees were busy with customers. 
 
 All the stolen jewelry was in the same general area of the store, Williams said, and the owner – Ala Shawabkeh, otherwise known as Mark Shaw – said he didn’t notice the items were gone until later. 
 
 Investigators believe the heist may have been planned for about two weeks, because the suspects have been seen in the business before. 
 
 “They had been in the store on a prior date and were asking questions about the jewelry in the store,” Williams said. “That’s why they feel they were scoping it out.” 
 
 Shaw also owns Gold House Fine Jewelry on Old Santa Fe Trail, which was raided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife in late October for selling counterfeit Native American jewelry that was actually made in the Philippines. 
 
 Federal authorities arrested three people for violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act after raids on jewelry stores in Albuquerque and Gallup as well as Santa Fe, but Shaw was not charged. Shaw also owns Wild Horse LLC on Old Santa Fe Trail and Virginia Trading Post and Fly Eagle on East San Francisco Street. 
 
 At Diva Diamonds on Tuesday afternoon, employees declined to comment, saying police advised them not to talk to anyone about the investigation. 
 
 There is a high density of jewelry stores in downtown Santa Fe, especially along East San Francisco Street on the Plaza. Williams said that burglaries in the area are common, but that thefts of this magnitude are not. 
 
 “We’ve certainly had theft down there, but the anomaly is the dollar amount,” she said. “We hadn’t had anything that high in a while.” 
 
 Williams said police have a few leads on the thieves, but they still need the public’s help identifying them. Images of the culprits are available on the Santa Fe Police public information officer Facebook page. 
 
 Anyone with information is urged to call detective Abe Maes at 505-231-6497 or detective Matthew Champlin at 505-469-5707.
– Santa Fe police say three thieves made off with more than $1 million in goods from a jewelry store while employees were distracted by a holiday celebration. A rep says two men and a woman took 11 items from an unlocked case inside Diva Diamonds & Jewels on the Santa Fe Plaza between 5:15pm and 5:30pm on Friday while crowds gathered for an annual holiday lighting event, per the Albuquerque Journal and KOAT. Authorities say the heist was likely planned since the suspects were spotted at the store previously. They're sharing surveillance photos of the suspects in the hope that the public will help identify them. "We’ve certainly had theft down there, but the anomaly is the dollar amount," says the rep. "We hadn’t had anything that high in a while."