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Baton Rouge, Florida Jared's robberies tied to jewelry store burglary gang
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UPDATE: An arrest warrant was filed in East Baton Rouge Friday for Devon Newby, one of the men arrested in the Jacksonville robbery.
He's charged with one count of armed robbery in the parish.
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BATON ROUGE – Jewelry store robbers in Baton Rouge and Florida’s northeastern coast all have ties to Michigan where the FBI has monitored a known robbery circuit, leading detectives to consider recent robberies in both states are likely connected.
WBRZ was first to report Tuesday of new details in the robbery at Jared’s near the mall on Bluebonnet. In May, robbers made off with 91 items estimated at $577,159.84. Officials called those items "loose diamonds and other diamonds."
The information was revealed in a search warrant uncovered by the WBRZ Investigative Unit.
Ironically, as WBRZ reported the details of the search warrant, a near-identical robbery unfolded in Jacksonville, Florida. There, authorities arrested four people after detectives foiled a robbery at a Jared’s location where suspects broke glass counters with hammers, stole jewels and ran out where three were apprehended in the parking lot. The fourth suspect was arrested later.
Sources told WBRZ’s partner station in Florida, First Coast News, the FBI was tracking a jewelry store gang from Michigan that was crossing the country. The group was responsible for heists at similar jewelry stores in various states.
A task force intercepted the heist in Florida, sources said.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit learned through search warrants filed in Baton Rouge, the men who were responsible for the robbery of the Jared’s on Bluebonnet in May were also tied to Michigan.
The name of one of the suspects arrested overnight in Florida matched the name of a suspect in a search warrant filed in Baton Rouge.
Local authorities in Florida would not confirm or deny a connection to Baton Rouge when asked by WBRZ, but sources said the cases are likely connected.
“The investigation is active and ongoing,” a deputy in Jacksonville, Florida, told WBRZ in a statement when asked about the connection between the two cases.
Police in Baton Rouge did not elaborate Wednesday.
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