Two Men Rob Jewelry Store at Oaks Mall.

Byline: R.A. Hutchinson Daily News Staff Writer Two armed men entered and robbed Dejaun Jewelers Inc. in The Oaks mall at midmorning Wednesday, getting away with an undetermined amount of jewelry. Sgt. Rod Mendoza, an officer with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, said the pair entered the store just before 11 a.m. through the mall entrance. After pulling a handgun from his waistband, one of the men ordered the two store employees into a back room. One employee was forced to stay in the back room while the second accompanied the other man to a jewelry display case. Mendoza said the man forced the employee to take items from the case and place them in a shopping bag. The employee then was returned to the back room and the robbers left the store. Witnesses told police they saw the men fleeing through the Bullock's department store and leaving on the north side of the mall. We're waiting to hear from anyone at The Oaks at the time - between 9:30 and 11 a.m. - who might have seen something,'' Mendoza said. Police described the suspects as two heavy-set African-American males in their mid-20s wearing black clothing. He asks anyone with information about the robbery to call the major crimes unit at the Ventura County Sheriff's Department at (805) 494-8215. The store manager, who declined to give his name, said the store remained open Wednesday while an inventory of the missing items was conducted. Mall officials declined to comment on the robbery. Mendoza said the value of the items stolen still is being determined. The sheriff's sergeant praised the employees for escaping injury in the robbery, noting that similar armed robberies at jewelry stores in the mall have been more violent. In the past, suspects have broken windows and threatened people in the stores. They survived . . . that means they did an excellent job,'' Mendoza said of the two employees. There were no customers in the store at the time of the robbery. Mendoza advises merchants who face robbers to cooperate. They should stay alert to an unusual activity or unusual people. If they are faced with this, they should cooperate and do everything the (robbers) ask you to do,'' he said. There's nothing worth risking yourself an injury.''