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Man who plotted robbery gets 11 years behind bars
A U.S. district judge in Florida has sentenced the man who masterminded the 2013 robbery of the International Diamond Center in Tampa to 11 years and 6 months in federal prison.
Tampa, Fla.--A U.S. district judge in Florida has sentenced the man who masterminded the 2013 robbery of the International Diamond Center in Tampa to 11 years and 6 months in federal prison.
Bryan Bobby Beaudoin, 25, also was ordered by U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell for the Middle District of Florida to forfeit $6,277 to cover proceeds from the sale of the stolen jewelry and the firearm used in the robbery.
According to court documents, on Nov. 22, 2013, Clyde Bernard Johnson and Anthony Mina Wahba entered Tampa’s International Diamond Center, concealing their identities with hats and sunglasses.
Johnson pulled out a gun and took control of the store while Wahba shattered the glass display cases with a hammer, retrieving a number of jewelry items with an approximate retail value of $2.1 million.
They also stole a few of the employees’ wallets, court documents state. Before the two left the store, Johnson fired a shot into the floor near the counter.
Police said that Beaudoin had conducted surveillance on the store earlier that day, planned the robbery and gave instructions to Johnson and Wahba. He also provided Johnson with the firearm used in the robbery.
While they were robbing the store, Beaudoin was waiting at a nearby location and later met up with Johnson and Wahba to split the proceeds from the robbery. As they were headed back to Orlando, the three stopped at a gas station and used one of the stolen credit cards to buy gas, where they were caught on the station’s video surveillance tape.
Though Beaudoin fled when officers first tried to arrest him, he ultimately was apprehended after a car chase through Orlando.
He pleaded guilty on July 31.
Johnson and Wahba also have pleaded guilty in the armed robbery. Their sentencing is scheduled for later this month.
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