EUGENE, Ore. – Eugene police have arrested a suspect in connection with the bold July robbery of a jewelry kiosk at Valley River Center.
Surveillance footage captured a man entering the shopping mall armed with an axe and a crowbar, smashing the kiosk’s glass and stealing approximately $20,000 worth of jewelry. The suspect cut his hand during the robbery, leaving behind blood droplets along with the crowbar and axe at the scene. Police recently matched the DNA from the blood to Wayne Wood, a man already in the Lane County Jail.
Court records show that Wood has a criminal history including assault, burglary, and kidnapping. He was arrested a month after the robbery for trespassing, drug offenses, and providing false information to police. Prior to his trespassing arrest, authorities received a note naming Wood as the suspect. The note mentioned that Wood had a cut on his hand, possessed 10-karat gold, and had been wearing “gaudy pieces” around his neck since the robbery…