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Long Beach Man Pleads Guilty to Participating in Smash-and-Grab Robbery at Beverly Hills Jeweler that Caused $2.6 Million in Losses

by Crime News

Press Release

Monday, September 30, 2024

LOS ANGELES – A Long Beach man pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for participating in the daylight smash-and-grab robbery of a Beverly Hills jewelry store in 2022 in which more than $2.6 million in merchandise was stolen – and which he later displayed on Instagram.

Ladell Tharpe, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act).

According to his plea agreement, on March 23, 2022, Tharpe, Deshon Bell, 22, of Long Beach, and Jimmy Lee Vernon III, 33, also of Long Beach, and other co-conspirators robbed a luxury jewelry store in Beverly Hills. Before, during, and after the robbery, Tharpe led the cars used to transport the robbers and the getaway vehicle to the location. Bell was one of the getaway drivers. Tharpe conducted surveillance and acted as the lookout for the co-conspirators.

Once they had arrived outside the jewelry store, some of the robbers – including Vernon – got out of one of the cars, entered the store and used heavy tools to smash the store’s display cases while employees and customers were present.

The thieves removed from the store’s display cases at least 19 bracelets, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces, a pair of obelisks, eight rings, and 20 watches, all of which was valued at approximately $2,674,600. The robbers then returned to the car in which Bell was waiting and then fled the scene.

Tharpe posted images of large amounts of cash on Instagram after the robbery with the text “Robbery Gang.”

United States District Judge George H. Wu scheduled a January 6, 2025, sentencing hearing for Tharpe, who will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Tharpe has been in federal custody since March 2023.

Bell and Vernon each have pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery. Judge Wu on February 26 sentenced Bell to one year and one day in federal prison and ordered him to pay $2,674,600 in restitution. The sentencing hearing for Vernon, who has been in federal custody since September 2022, is scheduled for December 5.

The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Kevin B. Reidy of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.

Contact
Ciaran McEvoy
Public Information Officer
ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov
(213) 894-4465

Click here to view the source for this posting.

GRAB AND RUN THEFT- FAIRFIEW HEIGHTS, IL

by Daily Blog

On 09/17/24, at 11:30 a.m., a lone male subject approached a jewelry kiosk inside of a mall and said he wanted to get a gold chain. The sales associate showed the subject a gold chain and then he asked about a medal. The team member held both in his hands, and the subject grabbed them out of his hands and ran away. No injures were reported. Mall security and police were notified.

Subject Description:
Male, Black, early 30’s, 5’11”, 180lbs, broad shoulders. Attire: black jacket, black sweats and black shoes.

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

ATTEMPTED SIDEWALL ENTRY BURGLARY – ORANGE COUNTY, NY

by Daily Blog

On 9/15.2024, at 9:27 p.m., four Hispanic male subjects attempted to break into a jewelry store in a mall from the women’s restroom. The subjects were wearing construction helmets and yellow vests. When confronted, one of the subjects stated they were working in the restroom, but security had no knowledge. As security was inspecting the restroom, they noticed a huge hole in the wall. The subjects started to run out. As they were running out, a fire extinguisher was removed and sprayed in the common area. The subjects escaped and there were no arrests. No entry was made into the store.

The subjects were last seen driving a black Jaguar with blacked out plates. If you have any information regarding these subjects, please contact the Jewelers Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

SUBJECT WANTED FOR 3 MINUTE BURGLARY – WATAUGA, TX

by Daily Blog

On 9/9/2024, at 4:22 a.m., a subject entered a jewelry store by breaking a front glass window at 4:22 a.m. The subject was seen pulling sheets off cases and broke a corner case housing gold product with what appears to be a sledgehammer. He grabbed a handful of items and then fled the store after looking at other cases and finding them empty. He returned a second time moments after to retrieve his duffel bag which he had left behind. The subject left the store at 4:24 a.m.

Suspect(s) Description:
Male dressed in all black with a medium build. He was last seen wearing white full coverage face mask, gloves, a head covering, white tennis shoes, and he was carrying a large black duffel bag. If you have any information regarding this subject, please contact the Jewelers Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org

SUBJECTS WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED SMASH & GRAB ROBBERY – RED BANK, NJ

by Daily Blog

On 9/3/2024, at approximately 1:07 p.m., police received a call indicating that a security guard was chasing two people who were carrying sledgehammers. The subjects had attempted the gain entry into the front door of the jewelry store. Security camera footage shows the security guard open the store’s front door as the subject approached the store. The subject saw the security guard then fled with an accomplice. The subjects entered a dark colored Dodge Durango SRT and fled. Click here to view footage of the incident.

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

REMOVED DISPLAY – MISSION VIEJO, CA

by Daily Blog

On 8/8/2024, at 2:00 p.m., a male subject approached a jewelry store’s top of counter display that was sitting on a showcase along the lease line and contained various children’s jewelry pieces. The subject was seen cutting the cable that was securing the display to the showcase, where he then grabbed the display and walked off. The subject appeared to be a light skin male, possible Caucasian or Hispanic. He has a thin build and was last seen wearing a dark top and pant with a camouflage bucket style hat. If you have any information regarding this subject, please contact the Jewelers Security Alliance at jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

GRAB AND RUN – SUNRISE, FL

by Daily Blog

On 08/19/2024, at 1:30 p.m., an unidentified male subject approached a jewelry kiosk in a mall and stated he was interested in diamond earrings. The subject was shown and selected a pair of diamond earrings valued at $265.00. When the sales associate was asking for information to enter into cleinteling, she completed that process and after scanning the item in the point of sale, the subject grabbed the earrings out of her hands and ran out to the nearest exit. A report was filed with the Sunrise Police Department for further investigation.

Subject description: Black male, approximately 25 years old, 5″10 and 145 lbs., hair with braids, wearing a black and green hoodie.

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

Manhattan DA's Office Shield

D.A. Bragg Announces Indictment Of Man For Stealing And Swapping $460,000 Worth Of Diamonds

by Arrests

A press release from the Manhattan, NY District Attorney is posted verbatim below:

JULY 25, 2024

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. today announced the indictment of MANASHE SEZANAYEV, 41, for defrauding two diamond merchants by covertly swapping their diamonds for lab grown stones – worth substantially less than natural stones – that were cut to resemble the diamonds that the merchants had been offering for sale. SEZANAYEV is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with two counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and three counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Third Degree. [1]

“Diamonds are forever, but this alleged scheme was short-lived. As alleged, Manashe Sezanayev took advantage of diamond merchants by stealing their diamonds and replacing them with fake stones,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Merchants are expected to conduct business in a fair and honest manner. Those who take advantage of consumers will be held accountable.”

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, in early 2024, SEZANAYEV operated his company, Rachel’s Diamonds, in the Diamond District in Manhattan.

On February 5, 2024, a diamond merchant visited SEZANAYEV at his office with two diamonds that SEZANAYEV claimed to be interested in buying, valued at approximately $185,000 and $75,000. SEZANAYEV allegedly inspected the two stones and turned his back to the merchant to weigh them on his scale. He swapped the diamonds for lab grown stones that had been recut to imitate the natural stones and inscribed with forged Gemological Institute of America (“GIA”) laser inscriptions.

On March 27, 2024, SEZANAYEV told a second diamond merchant that he had a customer interested in buying that merchant’s diamond, valued at approximately $200,000. That same day, SEZANAYEV purchased a lab grown stone that was later recut to resemble that natural diamond and inscribed with a forged GIA laser inscription to mimic that natural diamond.

On April 2, 2024, the second merchant met with SEZANAYEV and the purported customer, and SEZANAYEV examined the merchant’s diamond. That merchant later learned that the stone SEZANAYEV returned to him was a lab grown diamond that was cut to resemble his stone.

Assistant D.A. Ben Rose (Financial Frauds Bureau) is handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Kofi Sansculotte (Bureau Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau) and Jodie Kane (Chief of the Investigation Division).

D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD, particularly Detective Joseph Metsopulos of the Major Case Squad. He also thanked GIA for their work in this investigation.

Defendant Information:

MANASHE SEZANAYEV

Forest Hills, Queens

Charged:

Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor, three counts

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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.

Source

Handcuffs

Violent prison gang Tren de Aragua linked to gunpoint jewelry store robbery

by Arrests

El Paso, TX – August 6, 2024 – Last week, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, TX relinquished custody of 21-year-old Jean Torres Roman, to the Denver County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado.

Roman had been arrested in Las Cruces, NM. HSI has said Roman is a member of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua. He is also a suspect in a robbery that occurred at a jewelry store in Denver, CO on June 25th, 2024 in which two female jewelry store workers were pistol whipped. Several of Roman’s accomplices are still at large.

Click here and here to read more about this arrest and the robbery in Denver, CO.

If you have any information regarding the outstanding subjects involved in the Denver robbery, please contact the Jewelers Security Alliance at jsa2jewelerssecurity.org or 212-687-0328.

The subjects from the Denver jewelry store robbery are below.

Denver Robbery Subjects