Crime

JSA Offering $10K Reward in Las Vegas Robbery

CrimeMay 25, 2016

JSA Offering $10K Reward in Las Vegas Robbery

The Jewelers’ Security Alliance is asking for information leading to the arrest of five men wanted for a violent smash-and-grab robbery of high-end watches.

New York--The Jewelers’ Security Alliance is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of five men wanted in a violent robbery of high-end watches in Las Vegas.

According to an email alert the JSA sent out Monday, at 10:35 p.m. on May 19, five men carried out a smash-and-grab robbery of high-end watches in a store located in a casino shopping arcade.

The robbers pistol-whipped a security guard, who sustained non-life threatening injuries. They smashed several showcases and took many high-end watches.


The suspects are described as black males ages 18 to 20 years old, according to the JSA. Their physical descriptions (from left) are: 5 feet 6 inches and 140 lbs.; 5 feet 10 inches and 165 lbs.; 5 feet 7 inches and 150 lbs.; 5 feet 10 inches and 180 lbs.; and 5 feet 7 inches and 150 lbs.
Anyone with information should call the JSA’s Reward Hotline at 800-325-1883. For anyone who wishes to remain anonymous, the JSA said it will take measures to ensure identity protection while allowing for payment of the reward.

Those with information also can call Sgt. Franklin Farmer of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Robbery Section at 702-828-3591, or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.


It’s thought that the five suspects might have escaped in these vehicles.

According to JSA, there have been 65 robberies of U.S. retail jewelers reported so far in 2016, including 21 in California and four in Nevada, and arrests of 49 suspects involved in 20 robberies thus far.

Many of these have been violent smash-and-grab and gunpoint robberies, JSA said, with one recent incident including a gang storming a Los Angeles store with an AK-47 assault rifle.

The JSA reminded the industry in its alert that all jewelers are at a greatly increased risk, especially those located in California and Nevada.

It agave the following recommendations.

 --Do not resist in a robbery; cooperate fully.
--Be watchful of signs of casing, and report suspicious incidents immediately to the police as well as to JSA.
--Maintain a close relationship with the local police department, and consider asking for more directed police patrol around the store’s location.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.

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