Four arrested in $100,000 Sam’s Club jewelry heist in Phoenix
Phoenix police arrested four men on burglary charges in connection to a jewelry store heist
Phoenix police arrested four men on burglary charges in connection to a jewelry store heist that occurred at a Sam’s Club on McDowell Road on May 20, according to court documents.
The four suspects include Jamone Williams, 25; Derrick Welch, 27; Darius Sutton, 18 and one juvenile, who was booked into the Durango Juvenile Detention Center, according to department spokesperson Sgt. Mercedes Fortune.
The three adult suspects have been charged with at least one count of burglary, while Williams has an additional count of criminal tampering.
Police responded to the initial 911 call of a burglary in progress at the Sam’s Club on 8340 W. McDowell Road around 1:30 a.m., after a witness saw and heard four men force their way through the front door, according to court documents.
The store’s video surveillance showed that a cinderblock was used to secure entry into the store,while a mini-sledgehammer was used to break into the display case, court documents said.
Approximately $100,000 in jewelry, including engagement rings, were stuffed into a backpack, according to court documents.
The police recovered the jewelry by tracing the GPS tracking coordinates of the jewelry’s security devices back to the suspects. All of the security devices were removed from the jewelry as they were fleeing the scene, according to court documents.
Officers were able to locate and pull over a maroon Ford Expedition with California plates and found the jewelry in the backseat of the vehicle, according to court documents.
All four of the vehicle’s occupants matched the people seen on the store’s video surveillance and were arrested on Interstate 10 and 12th Street, according to court documents.
No questions were answered by suspects during the police interview.
Police believe this incident is related to a string of jewelry burglaries at other Sam’s Club warehouses across California, Nevada and Arizona. All of these incidents have shared the same approach and suspect description, according to court documents.
There were no injuries reported, Phoenix Police tweeted.
All three hearings are scheduled for June 7.
Reach breaking news reporter Amaris Encinas at [email protected] or on Twitter @amarisencinas.
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