Suspected Ohio diamond thieves' getaway foiled by stuck elevator

KENWOOD, Ohio -- A couple of suspected diamond thieves might have gotten away with it - if it wasn't for a stuck elevator.

Police say Leroy Bridgmen, 57, and Marcie Young, 61, tried to steal jewelry from the Diamonds Rock in Kenwood, Ohio. Surveillance video shows a man, who investigators say is Bridgman, smash through the front door and use a crowbar and screwdriver to unlock a second door.

He then looks for the right showcase to break into.

"He grabbed what he could, and you can see in the film that as he's trying to pull some rings, pendants, things out, police are coming. You can tell he is trying to quickly get out of the building," store owner Mike Lane told television station WLWT.

Investigators say Bridgmen and Young tried to make it to their getaway vehicle by going down a stairwell, but when they realized the stairwell didn't lead there, they hopped into an elevator.

But that elevator got stuck at the garage level. Investigators say once they realized they were stuck, they tried to stash the jewelry into the ceiling.

They were eventually rescued by the fire department, then arrested.

Lane says one of the suspects had been in the store several hours earlier.