Residents worried about missing property following eviction of Palm Springs jewelry store; Attorney responds
For the past eight months, Palm Springs resident Merri Brook was a loyal customer of Stuart's Fine Jewelry, and would often have repairs made to her pieces at the business. Recently, she said there was a problem locating her jewelry when she went back to pick it up.
Brook said the owner of the shop was not able to find some of her items, and at one point, she said he allowed her to look through storage boxes where she was finally able to locate one of her pieces.
Stuart's Fine Jewelry is now closed and a spokesman for the Palm Springs Police Department has confirmed the business was evicted. It's unclear exactly when the business was evicted. However, PSPD does not handle evictions, which are handled by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
News Channel 3 has reached out to the sheriff's department for more information regarding the eviction of Stuart's Fine Jewelry.
Merri Brook said the last time she visited the store it was completely empty and the phone line has been disconnected. There are similar accounts shared on Nextdoor, from angry customers concerned about whether they will ever be able to locate and retrieve their jewelry.
News Channel 3 has also been unable to find updated contact information for the owner of Stuart's Fine Jewelry.
After our report first aired, the Palm Springs Police Department forwarded News Channel 3 a comment from the owner and his attorney. According to them, they were going through each item when officers arrived and calling the owners to let them know to pick up their property.
"Kramer [the attorney] and Peterson [the owner] said it is taking time to go through each item, but as they go through the items, they are calling the owners," reads the report from PSPD.
Attorney Bonnie Kramer asks that customers in need of their items email her at bonniekramerlaw@gmail.com. The email should contain the following:
- Customers' contact information
- Claim ticket number and/or
- Description of item
Kramer told News Channel 3 on Wednesday that she is completing the inventory check. She'll likely start getting back to customers starting Friday.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.
