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By the time Mary Dawn could get to her Centralia shop, antique and jewelry business The Jewelry Boutique, the crime had already been done.
After alarms were set off at about 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Dawn arrived to find the glass from the door and jewelry case shattered, with valuable, unique pieces of jewelry stolen from the case. The total value of the stolen items is still being assessed. Law enforcement from the Centralia Police Department arrived at the scene moments later.
“I’m not exactly sure what they used to smash through the glass. It’s a really thick glass and it’s tempered. All of the glass came in,” Dawn said. “Pretty certain they had a pair of gloves on because there wasn’t any blood or anything and there was a lot of glass. And they left a syringe on our ledge and some cashews.”
The store has security cameras, but the footage from those came out blurry, Dawn said. Police who reviewed the security footage were unable to tell if there was more than one person committing the crime.
A few months ago, Dawn remembers her alarms going off due to what was assumed to be from loud, heavy exhaust vehicles “ripping through town,” she said. When speaking with police on Tuesday morning, Dawn said they now suspected that incident was actually someone testing how long it took police to respond to the alarm system.
If anyone sees jewelry being sold on OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or some such site, Dawn asks that they reach out to her or review posts from the Centralia Downtown Association Facebook page, where there will be photos of pieces similar to those stolen. To contact the shop, call 360-736-2797.
Dawn has been working in her boutique for 30 years. As a longtime Centralian, she loves the history of the building.
She told The Chronicle Tuesday her store sat in block one, lot three of Centralia founders George and Mary Jane Washington’s original plat.
Her mother purchased the building in 1991.
“This piece of property was originally sold for $10 on a handshake,” she said, adding later: “We intend on being here for many, many years to come. I have two daughters that are both in college now, they’re studying and hopefully they’ll come back and join us. I also have granddaughters.”
