diamonds

Police searching for man identified and accused of stealing from multiple Colorado jewelry stores

by Crime NewsCrime SuspectsCrime VideosCrimes

Longmont, CO – February 25, 2024 – Police up and down the Front Range are looking for 56-year-old James Margulis. He�s wanted by several police departments, accused of stealing from at least eight jewelry stores in two months. One victim is warning other business owners to be on the lookout.

Rudy Rodriguez is co-owner of a jewelry store in Longmont. He used to put the best, most expensive jewelry out on the floor. “Now, everything stays in the safe,” Rodriguez said. “You never know who’s coming through the door, because this guy that came through the door, he was nice looking and dressed well.”

Security video from Jan. 17 shows Rodriguez working behind the counter when a man in a tan jacket walks in. “I was going to show him one, and then he says ‘What about those?'” Rodriguez said. “I looked down and that’s when he took them and ran.”

The man stole a fistful of gold chains worth about $10,000. Rodriguez said he chased after the suspect, but he got away. “He stole from me,” Rodriguez said. “That’s why I pursued him, because it’s like coming into my house. This is our house. I was this close to grabbing that dude.”

Court documents show the suspect has a pattern. He acts like a typical customer coming in during business hours to shop for a family member. Sometimes it’s his anniversary and other times it’s a birthday or graduation. According to investigators, when he sees an opportunity to grab and run, he goes for it.

Court documents show Margulis has at least four warrants for his arrest. Two warrants are out of Boulder County, one out of Jefferson County, and another out of Larimer County. Margulis is accused of stealing from at least eight jewelry stores between Dec. 13 and Jan. 25. 

“It’s mind-boggling, and it’s upsetting,” Rodriguez said. “Do any of these other jewelry stores that he hasn’t walked into, do they know that’s his MO? Do they even know?”

Rodriguez has made some changes to his store. He�s added new security, such as motion sensor cameras. He�s also keeping more of their jewelry in the safe. “And if we show any of our gold, we show it over here,” Rodriguez said, pointing to the back of the store.

Margulis has been convicted of several thefts in the past. In addition to his new warrants, documents show he’s also wanted for violating parole.

Click here to read the original, unrevised article written by Brianna Clark.

Watch the video below to learn more:

If you have any information regarding these subjects, please contact the Jewelers’ Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

police tape

Subject shot by store employee in attempted robbery.

by ArrestsCrime NewsCrimes

police tape

Chicago, IL – February 24, 2024 – Shortly before 11:00 a.m. a male subject began to smash into a jewelry store’s display case. An employee of the store then responded with force. Joe Hiti of Audacy wrote the following about the incident:

The footage shows the attempted robber walking into the store and perusing for about a minute before running toward the entrance. On his way out, he started bashing in a glass jewelry case, causing the employee to reach behind the counter and begin shooting before he tried to flee.

Footage from outside the store showed the man falling out of the doors and running back in to grab what appeared to be a small bag before taking off. Police were quickly called, and they were able to subdue the man, taking him into custody and then to a hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound. Police say he is in stable condition. The employee was found to be a concealed carry license holder, ABC7 reported.

Click here to read Joe Hiti’s article.

Watch the video below to see the crime:

If you have any additional information regarding this incident, please contact the Jewelers� Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

Pictures of arrested suspects

$86K in packages stolen from Sacramento-area jeweler intercepted, 2 arrested

by ArrestsCrime News

VALLEJO, CA – February 14, 2024 – Two people were arrested after authorities said they intercepted three stolen packages in transit, valued at about $86,000, belonging to a Sacramento-area jeweler.

Kyle Gutierrez and Lakisha Pettus

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said its Special Investigations Bureau (SIB) investigated the theft that happened on January 12. 

Deputies said they learned a suspect, Lakisha Pettus, posed as an employee of a Sacramento-area jeweler and coordinated that the packages be released to a third-party courier service for a fee. 

The courier then took the packages to Vallejo, where deputies said Kyle Gutierrez took possession of the stolen packages. Gutierrez then gave the packages to Pettus for a fee, deputies said. 

But on January 15, deputies said SIB detectives uncovered Pettus’ attempt to intercept another package. This package was valued at about $65,000, deputies said. SIB conducted an undercover operation, leading them to Vallejo where Pettus and Gutierrez were apprehended.

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant for both suspects, leading to them being arrested and taken to the Sacramento County jail. Deputies said it was discovered that Pettus has been involved in this scheme for nearly 15 years. Any business that has been victimized can contact the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office at (916) 874-5115.

Click here to read the original source for this article written by Brandon Downs.

Gutierrez and Pettus were released from custody on February 14, 2024.

If you have experienced a similar crime, please contact the Jewelers Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

Diamond

ARMED ROBBERY – OCALA, FL

by Daily Blog

On 2/20/2024, a jewelry store experienced a gunpoint robbery. The robber made off with a significant amount of merchandise. No one was hurt.

Ocala police officials said the store was robbed shortly before 6:45 p.m. Authorities said a man entered the store armed with a gun and told employees to get into the bathroom. The gunman broke the display glass and removed a large amount of jewelry.

The man then left the store and police were notified about the heist. Police officials said no customers were inside the business, and no employees were injured.

It’s unknown if the robbery is connected to two jewelry store burglaries that occurred within days of each other recently. The first was on Jan. 23 and the second on Feb. 3. Both involved stores at a mall. Those cases remained unsolved. Click here to read the original source of this post.

If you have any information regarding these subjects, please contact the Jewelers Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

Hammer

Riverside, California smash-and-grab robbers steal thousands in jewelry as owner opens fire

by Crime NewsCrime Videos

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – February 19, 2024 – Two robbers got away with thousands of dollars in jewelry in a brazen smash-and-grab even as the Riverside store’s owner chased them off with gunfire.

The incident was captured on surveillance video Saturday morning..

The two masked subjects are seen casually walking into the jewelry store, apparently getting in through a locked door that didn’t fully close after the last person entered. They immediately start smashing glass display cabinets with hammers.

One shocked customer tries to escape through the front door but can’t get it open, then she scrambles past the subjects to exit out the back door.

Moments later the store’s owner opens fire at the subjects, attempting to scare them off but not directly strike them. One shot struck the ground and another smashed the store’s window as the startled subject falls to the ground on his way out.

“He shot once at the ground. Immediately as he shot at the ground, they ran,” said Michelangelo Torchia, the owner’s son. “One of the guys, you’ll see in the surveillance video, he fell to the floor, scared. grabbed his hammer because he dropped his hammer and one of our bracelets he was stealing.”

The owners, in business since 1989, say they are shaken by the robbery but grateful no one was hurt.

Riverside police are actively working leads in the case and are attempting to identify the robbers. A spokesperson for the department said it does not appear the store owner acted criminally when firing at the robbers.

Click here to learn more and read the source of this posting written by Leanne Suter and Rob McMillan

If you have any information regarding these subjects, please contact the Jewelers’ Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

Handcuffs

Suspect Hits Victim with Vehicle After Stealing Jewelry and Fleeing; Suspect Later Taken into Custody

by ArrestsCrime NewsCrime Suspects

YUCAIPA, CA– On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, a male suspect entered a business and requested to look at jewelry from behind the counter. The clerk displayed several items to the suspect and assisted other patrons at the same time. As the other patrons were leaving, the suspect gathered the jewelry and ran from the store without attempting to pay for the items.

The victim chased after the suspect who ran to a nearby parking lot and entered the driver’s seat of the suspect vehicle. The suspect hit the victim with the vehicle, knocking him to the ground. The suspect fled the area and was last seen traveling west on Yucaipa Boulevard. The victim sustained minor abrasions from the assault.

Through investigative leads, the suspect was identified as Isaiah Vorise, 23, of San Bernardino. Vorise was out of custody and on bail on an unrelated Los Angeles County criminal case.

On Feb. 15, 2024, an arrest warrant was issued for Isaiah Vorise. Vorise was arrested later that same day in Los Angeles County. Deputies from the Yucaipa Sheriff’s Station served a search warrant at Vorise’s residence in San Bernardino but did not recover any of the stolen property. Vorise was booked at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino for the arrest warrant for the jewelry theft. He was also booked on an additional charge of committing a new felony while out of custody on bail.

Click here to read the source for this posting.

Handcuffs

�Smash & Grab� Suspects Arrested in�Troy, Michigan

by ArrestsCrime NewsCrime SuspectsCrimes

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.

police tape

Jeweler kidnapped after shooting, robbery at Gaston Co. jewelry store

by Crimes
Police tape and police vehicles.

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. – January 31, 2024 – A man was shot in the back during a robbery and kidnapping that began at his jewelry store in Gastonia on Wednesday night, officials said.

Police investigated two scenes, one at the jewelry store, and another at the jeweler’s home. The two locations are about 15 minutes apart.

Officers were called to his home just before 8:30 p.m., the Belmont Police Department said. When officers arrived, the jeweler told them that he had been shot and robbed by four masked men at the store. After the robbery, police said he was kidnapped and taken back to his home in Belmont.

Investigators said all evidence suggests that the subjects left the area after going to the man�s house.

A police report said the man�s Chevrolet Tahoe was also stolen, but was recovered at his home.

He was taken to the hospital where he is being treated for a gunshot wound in his back.

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

Click here to read the original report made by WBTV.

ARREST

Queens, NY- Alleged robber busted in violent NYC jewelry heist that injured elderly woman.

by ArrestsCrime NewsCrime Suspects

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.

Burglar leaving crime scene.

Burglar smashes display cases at jewelry store in swift break-in: VIDEO

by Crime Videos

CHICAGO, IL – January 21, 2024 – A Northwest Side jewelry store was broken into early Saturday, Chicago police said. The crime was caught on surveillance video.

The burglary took place just after 1 a.m. Saturday. The subject broke through the front door of the business before going directly to the display cases, smashing through them with a hammer before getting away with tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry.

“I think he was ready,” said Wioletta Anikiej, Vice President at the jewelry business that was targeted. “He knows about the entire store.” You give your whole heart, and someone stole your stuff. It’s very heartbreaking” said Wioletta Anikiej, store owner

The burglary happened within seconds. The seemingly calculated crime left shattered glass throughout the floor and the store owners’ decades of hard work reduced to broken dreams within seconds.

“His first idea was straight to the watches,” Anikiej said. “He’s been in this store, definitely.”

Security video showed a masked subject break into the business. He was also seen rushing to and smashing through several display cases and loading up a black bag with expensive watches.

Police arrived to the scene roughly 30 minutes after the robbery.

The display cases were left empty following the most recent break-in, and the owners said similar incidents have happened before.

“We try and work so hard here, right? Seven days a week,” Anikiej said. “You give your whole heart, and someone stole your stuff. It’s very heartbreaking.”

The burglar left the store the same way he came in. “It’s hard to say why people are doing this,” Anikiej said. “We just questioned ourselves all day, and it’s not our first time we’ve gotten robbed. For the last six years, that’s already four times, so we just start asking ourselves should we continue this business.”

After he exited back through the front door, police said the subject ran north. Area 5 detectives continue to investigate. No further information was immediately available.”

Click here to view video footage and read the source for this post, written by Tre Ward.

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