Posts in category: Arrests

Arlington Heights, IL – On February 8, 2024, the Arlington Heights Police Department announced the arrest of 40-year-old Michael G. Nichols, who was the second suspect arrested for an armed robbery of a jewelry store that occurred on January 25, 2023 in Arlington Heights, IL.

In that incident, masked subjects entered the store with weapons, smashed multiple display cases, and stole several high-end pieces of jewelry.

A third subject who is possibly a female is still at large. Click here to learn more about this crime, and the first suspect who was arrested.

If you have any information about the third subject in this crime, please contact the Jewelers Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

Troy, Michigan – On February 3, 2024, the Troy, Michigan Police Department made six arrests recently of suspects involved in ‘smash and grabs’ at six jewelry stores in Michigan and Ohio. The suspects could be the group that did a recent robbery at the Lima Mall in early January.

Five of the suspects have been charged with armed robbery, while one suspect is charged with unarmed robbery and receiving and concealing stolen property. A total of $170,000 worth of jewelry was recovered.

Deshawn Hammonds, 20, Jasmine Latricia Oneal, 29, Courtez Eugene Lawrence, 27, Eric Lamar Lambert Bennett, 27, Desean Shakari Hall, 31, and 21-year-old Andre Demond Jackson have all been arraigned and are being held in the Macomb County Jail.

On January 13, 2024, there was a smash and grab robbery at jewelry store in the Great Lakes Crossing Mall in Auburn Hills. Three black males wearing hoodies and surgical masks entered the store, smashed out the cases and stole several thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry.

A suspect vehicle was identified that registered to a rental company. Subsequently, the renter was also identified. A short time later that vehicle was returned to a Lansing rental location, and a new vehicle was rented.

On January 22, 2024, Troy SIU was notified by the Lansing Mall of a smash and grab at another Jewlery store. Eaton County Sheriff’s Office determined the getaway vehicle from the theft was the newly rented vehicle. Further investigation concluded this same group was responsible for a total of six robberies in Michigan and Ohio.

The new rental vehicle was located, and surveillance was initiated. The vehicle travelled to Sterling Heights at which point Sterling Heights PD, Shelby Twp. PD and Troy PD Directed Patrol Officers were contacted and requested to assist. The vehicle entered the Lakeside Mall parking lot in Sterling Heights and began to circle the lot with another vehicle that was stolen from Harper Woods on 1/16/24. At approximately 2pm, four black males got out of the vehicle and went inside Lakeside Mall, leaving two individuals outside. All four were wearing hoods and surgical masks. After a few minutes of scouting, the four entered a Jewelry store near center court and immediately began smashing out cases. After grabbing what they could carry, they all fled on foot in various directions, but were quickly apprehended by officers on scene. All six suspects were transported directly to Macomb County Jail. Approximately $170,000 worth of jewelry was stolen/recovered.

The Troy Police Department credits the exceptional effort of the Troy Special Investigations Unit for this complex investigation and arrests. The Special Investigations Unit is comprised of officers from the Auburn Hills Police Department, Birmingham Police Department, Bloomfield Township Police Department, Royal Oak Police Department, and Troy Police Department. These investigators work together in a collaborative, multi-jurisdictional unit that investigates criminal activity impacting the region.

We would also like to recognize the collaborative efforts of the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office, the Sterling Heights Community Response Unit and the Shelby Township Police Surveillance Unit.

Click here to read the source of this posting.

QUEENS, NY – January 25, 2024 – A second suspect was arrested this week in connection to a violent heist that left a 79-year-old woman injured nearly a year ago, cops said.

Abel Andrade Vargas, 21, of Syracuse, was arrested Wednesday, January 24, 2024 and charged with two counts of robbery in connection to the Feb. 22, 2023, robbery at a jewelry store.

Vargas – joined by 33-year-old accomplice Andry Marcano – rushed into the store, where the violent duo punched, kicked and pistol-whipped 79-year-old Yuchi Lin around 2:30 p.m., cops said.

Store owner Eva Chen previously told The Post her mother, Yuchi, had just flown in from Taiwan for a visit hours earlier when the daughter went to get lunch and left her mom in charge of the store.

“They pointed a gun at her head and said, ‘Open the safe! Open the safe!'” Chen, 43, said of the broad-daylight horror. “But my mom didn’t know. She was totally terrified.”

One of the suspects posed as an Amazon worker and even tried to throw the senior off by placing a package at the door to the shop, Chen said at the time.

Footage obtained by The Post shows Lin peeking out the door as she goes to get the package a few minutes later, then quickly trying to close it as the man in the Amazon garb runs up. 

The suspect catches the door and pushes his way past the defenseless senior into the store, just as his accomplice, wearing all black – who was still hiding on the staircase – forces his way inside, too. 

Another video released by the NYPD shows one of the men pushing past the woman as she flails at his feet.

His masked partner – with a reusable shopping bag in one hand – whips a gun out from his waistband as the elderly store worker raises her hand over her head in self-defense.

In another clip, the woman can be seen cowering on the floor as glass from a broken jewelry enclosure falls around her.

The two robbers removed jewelry before fleeing on foot.

The septuagenarian was hospitalized in stable condition.

Marcano, of New Jersey, was arrested back in May and also charged with two counts of robbery, police said. 

“This could happen to anyone, right?” Chen said last year. “Wearing a costume, knock on the door – your parents, your kids – open the door, and they have a gun!”

‘They can kill anyone. That’s really crazy. They are wearing a costume. They could wear a police costume, they could wear a Con Edison costume.”

A voicemail left on the business’ phone was not immediately returned Thursday.

Click here to view video and read the original source of this posting written by Amanda Woods from the New York Post.

New York, NY- December 20, 2023 – A trigger-happy robber was busted after a string of armed heists and carjackings — including one jewelry store stickup in which he shot out a glass partition and made off with a jewelry worth a significant monetary value, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn allege.

Franco Alexander Peraza Navas, 30, was arrested in Yonkers on Sunday and charged in connection with what prosecutors described as “a wanton spree of at least two gunpoint carjackings and six gunpoint robberies and attempted robberies.”

The thievery in its entirety took place between August and December, and he fired his gun in at least three of his crimes, prosecutors alleged.

They used cell tower data and spoke to witnesses to identify Navas, learning that he returned to a residence with key-card access after a September store heist in Sheepshead Bay.

His big score came in October, when he fired a bullet during a jewelry store robbery at a store in Queens, NY prosecutors said. He allegedly blasted a bulletproof partition, “then kicked through the now-damaged bulletproof partition and stole approximately three trays of diamond and gold rings with an approximate value of $375,000 before fleeing on a black moped.”

Navas opened fire three times during another jewelry store robbery in November, feds alleged. He escaped capture when police tried to arrest him in Queens on Nov. 3.”Navas ran through a red light, jumped a median and drove quickly in the opposite direction. When officers gave chase in their vehicle, Navas ran through two additional red lights, jumped another median, and was able to successfully evade capture — enabling him to commit three additional violent offenses before he was apprehended [Sunday],” stated Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Sherman.

This case was investigated by ATF and NYPD. Navas was ordered held without bail at an arraignment in Brooklyn Federal Court on Monday.

Click here to read more about Navas’s offenses.

Click here to read the original source of this article.

FAIRFIELD, CT. (WTNH) — Fairfield police have arrested a suspect who allegedly stole jewelry from a jewelry store in November, according to authorities.

On Nov. 29, Fairfield police responded to a glass break alarm at a jewelry store. Upon arrival at the scene, an officer observed a vehicle leaving the parking lot but was unable to stop it, as it drove off at a high rate of speed.

Officers confirmed that a burglary had just taken place inside the store as a suspect smashed out the front window and stole jewelry, police said.

The Fairfield Police Department Quality of Life Unit collaborated with the Bridgeport Auto Theft Task Force to investigate the burglary.

The officers were able to locate the suspect’s vehicle used in the burglary on Dec. 7 and began conducting surveillance on its movements, authorities said.

At midnight, police watched as the suspect vehicle pulled into the parking lot of the jewelry store and moved toward the back of the building. At this moment, police moved in on the vehicle and arrested the driver.

The driver was identified as 30-year-old Juan J. Aviles. He was charged with first-degree criminal attempt of burglary and interfering with police and misusing plates. He was given a bond of $250,000 and transported to court on Dec. 8.

Police are currently working on an arrest warrant for the burglary on Nov. 29.

Manchester, NH – December 13, 2023 – Manchester Police have made arrests in connection with two jewelry store thefts that happened last month. The first was on November 20, 2023. According to an employee, a man walked into the store and asked to see a gold chain. While viewing the jewelry, he took the chain and walked out.

Through the investigation police identified the man as 23-yearold Kevin Donnelly of Manchester. Donnelly was arrested and charged with theft by unauthorized taking.

This was the first of two thefts at the jewelry store in the span of three days, in each the suspect utilizes snatch-and-grab tactics to steal gold chains.

The second incident occurred on November 25. The suspect involved in this theft was identified as 28-year-old Drae-Shawn Hernandez of Manchester. He was located and arrested and faces a charge of theft by unauthorized taking.

Police are still looking for the man involved in a theft at another jewelry store on November 28, 2023. In that incident, the suspect asked to see gold rope chains and cross pendants. As he viewed these chains, he got ahold of one and left the store. Police have identified that suspect as 42-year-old Timothy Maclean of Manchester. There is an active warrant for Maclean’s arrest charging him with theft by unauthorized taking.

UPDATE: 42-year-old Timothy Maclean was the third suspect was ARRESTED, following an investigation into another snatch-and-grab-type theft at a Jewelers on Elm Street on Nov. 28.

In that case, Maclean allegedly walked into the store and and asked to see gold rope chains and cross pendants, only to leave after he managed to grab one of the chains.

Arrested on Dec. 12, Maclean was charged with theft, adding to charges he faced from another warrant, including Receiving Stolen Property and Felon in Possession of a Dangerous Weapon.

Temecula, CA – On December 10, 2023, three men were arrested on suspicion of attempting to rob a jewelry store in Temecula, and two others were later taken into custody after leading deputies on a pursuit from Riverside County to Los Angeles County.

Around 2:40 p.m., five men attempted to rob a jewelry store, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. An employee at the store fired a shot toward the suspects, but no one was struck, the Sheriff’s Department’s media information bureau said.

Three suspects were caught before they could carry out the robbery, sheriff’s department officials said.

Two men fled in a vehicle and led authorities on a pursuit along the 215 Freeway to the 91 Freeway across Orange County and into Los Angeles County and were eventually arrested in Compton after attempting to flee on foot.

Two of the suspects were identified as Kristian Eugene Caldwell and Roosevelt Kahn Jr, both are 20 years old. The other three subjects are minors, and their identities were withheld.

Click here to view a news clip about this crime.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Authorities didn’t take long to track down the assailants behind a high-priced heist at a Miami-Dade jewelry store.

On December 5, 2023, police arrested 37-year old Ariel Hernandez , on burglary and grand theft charges, and his alleged accomplice, Michel Avila Delanuez, has also been booked on similar charges but is being treated at Palmetto General Hospital following their sudden takedown.

Police believe the men were involved in the major heist of a jewelry store that was caught on video in Northwest Miami- Dade on Monday. The thieves carved a hole through a neighboring business and dismantled the security alarm system. “It looks like they brought a device to cut off the signals,” Adrianna Prieto, told Local 10 News. From there, the suspects ransacked the room and set their target on a safe.

The subjects used a hook and a steel cable from a stolen tow truck that was parked right out front to latch onto the large safe, and after some maneuvering, they yanked the safe right through the front door before speeding away. Employees spent much of the day repairing the damage and cleaning up the mess, but were met with a bit of good news.

The owner of the tow truck had GPS and tipped off police that the vehicle was in Hialeah Gardens near a warehouse. As officers arrived, they saw the truck backing into a garage. Four men ran, but officers were able to nab two of the individuals.

If you have any additional information, please contact the Jewelers’ Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelersecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

Click here to view news clip regarding the incident.

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – November 28, 2023 – A suspect tied to a jewelry store robbery in Calexico back in 2022 has been arrested. 20-year-old Anthony Angel Flores was arrested on the night of November 21, after a robbery at a jewelry store in Calexico last year.

Calexico police say Flores and another suspect entered the store smashing a glass display with a hammer and pointed a handgun at a worker. 

Calexico police along with the FBI and the ATF conducted an investigation determining Flores was their suspect. “Flores is well known by our Calexico police officers and also he is well known for carrying firearms in the past and he has been involved also in past incidents where weapons were found,” said Jonathan Rangel, Calexico Police Department.

The other suspect is still on the loose.  Flores was handed over to the FBI for federal prosecution. Police say he is being charged with robbery with a firearm.  

Naples, FL – November 21, 2023 – A man has been arrested for attempting to pawn a fake high-end watch at a Southwest Florida pawn shop last week.

Police say the suspect, identified as Olgierd Wielecki, first pawned a counterfeit watch for $7,000 at a pawn shop in Naples on September 29th.

The scheme was uncovered when the pawn shop staff, upon inspection, realized the watch was fake after completing the transaction.

Wielecki returned to the pawn shop on November 16th to pawn another counterfeit watch from the same high-end brand.

However, the pawn shop promptly identified the watch as a fake, noting that the serial number on the movement mechanism was laser engraved, a departure from the brand’s traditional imprinting method.

Additionally, the watch was missing knurled thumb screws on the winder pinion, further confirming its counterfeit nature.

Upon arresting Wielecki for Defrauding a Pawnbroker, Collier County deputies reportedly discovered cocaine, Adderall, and Xanax in his pockets during the arrest.

Wielecki faces charges of defrauding a pawnbroker, grand theft, passing counterfeit goods, possession of amphetamine, possession of Xanax, and possession of cocaine.

Click here to learn about the type of watch that was pawned.