Angelina Ordonez

WANTED- Self-described influencer identified in string of jewelry store thefts in San Diego County and possibly, elsewhere

by Crime SuspectsCrimes

EL CAJON, Calif. – January 22, 2024 – Investigators are on the hunt for a woman wanted for a string of thefts at jewelry stores in San Diego County and possibly, elsewhere.

Late December, at around 2 p.m., El Cajon Police Sgt. Kevin Reilly says a woman walked into a jewelry store with a request. “She requested to see necklaces that were in the display in front of her, and they were gold necklaces,” said Sgt. Reilly. Sources tell ABC 10News she was well put together, from her makeup to a stylish hot pink jacket. She mentioned she was an �influencer,� and she was draped in diamonds, from diamond rings and a bracelet to a necklace. Police say the store employee took out several necklaces from a display.

“The jewelry is pulled out for her to try on. At one point, she steps away and makes a phone call on her cell phone. She returns back to the counter and informs the clerk that she�ll take it, and then she grabs the handful of jewelry and runs out of the business,” said Sgt. Reilly.

Investigators say the woman made off with $36,000 in gold necklaces.

Police say parking lot surveillance photos showed the car she got into, a getaway driver at the wheel. License plate cameras helped police identify the car and the alleged thief: Angelina Ordonez, 23, with addresses in San Diego and Yuma, AZ.

“She had committed the same style of theft at a jewelry store in Escondido later that same day after ours. Approximately two weeks prior, she committed a similar theft at a jewelry store in Carlsbad,” said Sgt. Reilly. Police are looking into links to several other, similar thefts in Southern California, Arizona and Michigan, all in the past few months.

Investigators advised Ordonez was detained for shoplifting in Arizona earlier this month, but the theft warrants weren’t yet active, and she was released. Police have not confirmed if her claims of being a social media influencer are legitimate.

Click here to view the news clip and click here to read the original source for this posting.

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

diamonds

New York’s Diamond District Confronts Emerging Threat of Crypto Fraud

by Crime NewsCrimes

New York, NY- Manhattan’s diamond district is a single chaotic block on West 47th Street, between 5th and 6th avenues. It’s usually crowded with people in groups, smoking and talking under their breath.

Men in designer jackets often ask, “buying or selling?” as they try to usher pedestrians into shops that sell glittering jewels for small fortunes.

Mike Shim has worked on this block for 15 years. Recently, a customer stole a large value of watches from his shop, by paying with fraudulent crypto currency, he said. Cryptocurrency is a digital currency designed to be exchanged through a decentralized computer network. The technology has been marred by fraud with high-profile cases, such as the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried.

“I got burned,” Shim said, ripping down a sticker that read “We Accept Bitcoin” from his store window. Crypto fraud cost U.S. businesses $2.57 billion in 2022, as attempts to regulate the industry have floundered.

The customer who pulled off the scam against Shim said he was from Dubai. He came in wearing a $60,000 watch, Shim said, shopping for other luxury timepieces.

Nothing was suspicious; the customer even haggled about the price. “If you negotiate, you seem legit,” Shim said.

When they finally settled on a watch and a price, the customer asked if he could pay in USBT, referring to an Ethereum token, a type of cryptocurrency that is pegged to the U.S. dollar’s value. “No problem,” said Shim. “We use crypto all day.”

That would be the last such transaction Shim ever accepted. The customer went through the motions of transferring the money to the store’s crypto wallet. Shim carefully confirmed the transfer with his employee. Then he handed over the two Rolexes, three high-end watches.

After the customer left, Shim got a call from his staffer saying the currency was fake. “It looked like USBT,” Shim said. “It was actually BUSBT,” a completely worthless type of token.

Click here to learn more and read the original source for this posting made by the Columbia News Service.

Kevin Mitchell

Wichita, KS- Police searching for suspect in jewelry theft

by Crime NewsCrime Suspects

Kevin Mitchell

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) – January 18, 2024 – Kevin Mitchell, 61 years old, is wanted in a theft at a local jewelry store was all caught on camera. Police have captured one suspect, but the other is still on the run. They need the public�s help catching him.

Security cameras show a man and woman inside the jewelry store in September. While the jewelry store owner was putting something back in a case, the two quickly left. On their fingers, $18,000 worth of diamonds.

“I was so mad,” said the owner. “I couldn’t believe they did it. I’ve been doing this for 40 years. They played me good. I believed them.” She says the couple came in saying they were looking for wedding rings. “She got it on her finger and said �this is the one I want,'” said the owner.

She said the woman then asked if there was a man�s ring to match. Sayre showed them the matching ring with diamonds.  That’s when she says they took off. They hopped into a running car and left.

“They were seen at another jewelry store,” said Crime Stopper�s Coordinator Kris Gupilan. “So who knows what their intent was there, but we know what their intent was in this case because they left with a couple of rings. This is definitely something we need help with from the public.”

Just last week, authorities say they captured the woman. But now they are looking for 61 year-old Kevin Mitchell, the other suspect.  “He’s going to do it to other people,” said Sayre. “It affects the community. If this keeps happening there won’t be personable stores to shop at because we can’t afford it. They’re going to put us out of business.”

Click here to view video and click here to read the original source for this posting written by Deb Farris.

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

Sentenced Robbery Suspects

Women sentenced to two years in prison for Palm Desert smash-and-grab robbery

by Crimes

Palm Desert, California – January 10, 2024 – Two women who took part in a smash-and-grab robbery, allegedly with four men, at a Palm Desert business last year have pleaded guilty to robbery and were each sentenced to two years in state prison.

Destiny Unique Baca, 18, of San Bernardino, and 24-year-old Los Angeles resident Analea Paradise Miller pleaded guilty Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to one felony count of robbery and had one felony count each of organized retail theft with intent to sell and grand theft of over $950 dismissed, according to court records.   

They were each immediately sentenced to two years in state prison, according to Riverside County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Brooke Beare.

Also suspected in the robbery are Los Angeles residents Julian Hermosillo, 19, Mason Barron, 22, and Reymond Garcia, 24, and Byron Lee, 19, of Compton. All were charged with grand theft over $950 and organized retail theft, according to court records. Hermosillo, Garcia and Lee were additionally charged with a felony count each of robbery while Barron faces two more felony counts each of robbery, grand theft over $950, organized retail theft and burglary.

They have all pleaded not guilty to their respective charges.

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jamison-l-townsend

Missouri woman sentenced to 10 years for fatal Mississippi pawn shop robbery

by Crime NewsCrimes

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI. – January 10, 2024 – A Missouri woman has been sentenced to serve a decade in prison for her involvement in a 2016 robbery at a Jackson, Mississippi pawn shop in which three people were killed.

According to court documents, 42-year-old Jamison Layne Townsend and her co-defendant, Joshua Michael Garcia, went to a jewelry store on December 17, 2016, to rob the business.

During the robbery, Garcia shot and killed the owner and two co-workers. Townsend and Garcia emptied the display cases of watches, rings, necklaces, bracelets, coins, and other items. Later that day, they entered a pawn shop in Mobile, Ala., and pawned five items that were stolen from the jewelry store earlier that day.

On December 19, 2016, a trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol attempted to stop Townsend and Garcia, who were traveling in a red Dodge Charger on Interstate 24. A chase ensued and the two suspects escaped at a high rate of speed.

Two days later, both were arrested in Geary County, Kan. Officers searched the vehicle and found numerous items that were stolen from the jewelry store, including coins, watches, trays of jewelry, and many items that still contained the sales tags from the jewelry store.

Additionally, officers recovered four firearms, including a Les Baer.45 caliber handgun that was determined to be the murder weapon by the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory. Ammunition, a cell phone, and numerous items of clothing were also recovered from the Dodge Charger.

Townsend pled guilty on September 18, 2023, to three counts of accessory after the fact. Joshua Michael Garcia had previously pled guilty to discharging a firearm that resulted in the murder of three persons during the commission of a robbery. He was sentenced to three life sentences.

Click here to read the original source for this posting written by Caleb Salers.

Image of Jewelry Thief

Wanted Grab & Run Thief Steals from Manhattan Jewelry Store:

by Crime Suspects

New York, N.Y. – January 4, 2024 � Earlier in the month of December 2023, the female subject below, allegedly committed a grab and run theft at a jewelry store in Manhattan, NY.

The subject walked into the store at 4:12 p.m., and proceeded to grab unspecified jewelry items. The thief then fled the scene.

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

jcpenny

El Paso, TX- Police seek subject in jewelry heist at Cielo Vista Mall

by Crime NewsUncategorized

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) � The El Paso Police Department needs your help looking for a person who broke into a store located at in a Mall.

The subject reportedly escaped with jewelry worth a significant value. Authorities say the subject gained entry into the store by breaking through the front door. Once the subject was inside, he targeted the jewelry section, stealing various items, including gold chains.

The subject, captured on surveillance video, was seen wearing a dark baseball cap, a black jacket with blue sleeves, dark gray pants, and black shoes. Footage from the day before showed the same individual walking through the store before its closing hours.

Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for anyone who has any information that leads to an arrest.

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 an article about this crime.

RIVERSIDE, CA – EMPLOYEES PEPPER SPRAYED DURING ROBBERY

by Daily Blog

On 12/31/23, at approximately 2:20 p.m., two or three male subjects pepper-sprayed employees at a jewelry store during a robbery at a mall, and subsequently escaped with jewelry.

The subjects fled in a car that was later found abandoned. If you have any information regarding the subjects involved, please contact the Jewelers’ Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

police tape

Exclusive: Queens, NY jewelry store owner recovering after being shot during violent robbery describes events.

by Crime VideosUncategorized

QUEENS, N.Y. – December 15, 2023 – Screams of terror could be heard from a jewelry store as masked gunmen ransacked and robbed the Queens store Tuesday evening.

The owner’s wife was brutishly thrown to the ground in a life-or-death attempt to fight back. Her husband, meanwhile, was wrestling the other men when he was suddenly shot twice.

“I feel, thanks to God, good,” Manuel Tapia told PIX11 News in an exclusive interview.

Miraculously, the 59-year-old survived and was home from the hospital a day after his brush with death. He recalled thinking he was going to die during the ordeal.

“[I] got hit by adrenaline, and it was life-or-death. [I] was fighting for [my] business and livelihood and family,” Tapia said through a translator.  

His teenage son and nephew were also there, holding their hands in the air during the robbery.

“I was terrified, screaming, ‘Dad, don’t fight! Let them take it.’ But it’s my dad’s life,” Robert Tapia, 18, said. 

Manuel suffered a graze wound to the head and another bullet went through his thigh. 

He opened the jewelry store in Corona two years ago.

The gunmen stole gold and diamonds.

Four of them fled on mopeds or e-bikes, according to the victim’s nephew.

“Those e-bikes have been common, criminals are using them now,” Kevin Leon said.

Investigators are using store security images and bullets recovered from the scene to track them down.

Tapia, thinking about the holiday rush, is eager to get back to work by the end of the week.

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

Alexander Peraza Navas

Trigger-happy crook charged in Brooklyn for six robberies, two carjackings: Feds

by ArrestsCrime NewsCrimes

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.

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