CrimeMar 28, 2025
2 Suspects Arrested in $1.7M Smash-and-Grab Robbery of NY Jewelry StoreCrimeApr 07, 2025
Third Man Involved in $2.7M Smash-and-Grab Is Sentenced
In March 2022, the men went into a jewelry store in Beverly Hills and smashed the display cases with sledgehammers and crowbars.
Long Beach, California, residents Ladell Tharpe, 39; Jimmy Lee Vernon, 33; and Deshon Bell, 22; all have been sentenced to time in federal prison for their roles in a smash-and-grab jewelry store robbery.
Los Angeles—The third of three adult men charged in the March 2022 robbery of Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Ladell Tharpe, 39, of Long Beach, California, was sentenced March 31 by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu after pleading guilty in September 2024 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery.
According to authorities, Tharpe and three other men—22-year-old Deshon Bell, 33-year-old Jimmy Lee Vernon II, and an unnamed minor—drove three vehicles, one of which had been stolen, to the jewelry store in the middle of the afternoon on March 22.
Authorities said Bell acted as the getaway driver while the others used crowbars and sledgehammers to break the store’s display cases while employees and customers were in the store.
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Ladell Tharpe, 39, of Long Beach, California, was sentenced March 31 by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu after pleading guilty in September 2024 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery.
According to authorities, Tharpe and three other men—22-year-old Deshon Bell, 33-year-old Jimmy Lee Vernon II, and an unnamed minor—drove three vehicles, one of which had been stolen, to the jewelry store in the middle of the afternoon on March 22.
Authorities said Bell acted as the getaway driver while the others used crowbars and sledgehammers to break the store’s display cases while employees and customers were in the store.
They stole at least 20 watches, 19 bracelets, eight rings, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces, and a pair of obelisks worth approximately $2.7 million.
Two days after the robbery, Tharpe posted pictures of stacks of cash on Instagram along with a caption praising his “Robbery Gang,” authorities said, while Vernon’s cell phone fell out of his pocket at the jewelry store and was recovered by investigators.
Bell and Vernon also pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery each.
Bell, the getaway driver, was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison in February 2024, while Vernon was sentenced in February to 80 months (six-and-a-half years) in prison.
All three men were ordered to pay $2.7 million in restitution.
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