SUPECTS MAY BE LINKED TO THEFT NETWORK; TWO HELD IN JEWELRY STORE HEIST.

Byline: Daily News

A special LAPD task force involved in jewelry heists similar to one Thursday in Valencia was contacted by local authorities who believe the thieves could be part of a larger organization, a sheriff's official said Friday.

``This could be a group. They could be linked to similar incidents,'' Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Peters said of the theft at a Valencia Town Center jewelry store.

Also on Friday, Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's investigators sought to hold two suspects in the theft from Kevin Jewelers for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, suspecting the men are in the country illegally, Peters said.

The pair bore documents identifying them as Tarmenio Duque, 39, and Selis Duque, 40, both of Los Angeles, but authorities questioned whether the identifications were valid, Peters said. They are being held on suspicion of grand theft, with bail set at $20,000. They will not be released on bond if the INS steps in.

The two were detailed at the mall by security guards shortly after the 4 p.m. theft from the second-floor jeweler. At least two others remain at large and $60,000 worth of diamond jewelry is still missing.

The two men were among a group that walked into the jewelry store about 4 p.m. Thursday distracting sales people while one grabbed a tray filled with diamond rings set in platinum. The jewelry was valued at $60,000, Peters said.

Investigators have been examining surveillance videotapes from inside the storetapes, hoping to identify the thieves.