COLUMBIA, SC – The FBI, along with local and state law enforcement agencies is trying to identify two individuals who are "armed and dangerous." The FBI believes the duo has been involved in multiple jewelry store robberies across the South, including South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.
The latest robbery occurred on Jan. 4 around 10:30 a.m. at the Jared Vault in Mebane, North Carolina. In that robbery, the female suspect displayed a handgun and forced two employees into a back room at gunpoint. She then zip-tied their hands, according to investigators.
After tying up the employees, she returned to the store's merchandise area and removed jewelry from the display cases before placing them in a shopping bag and leaving the store.
The two unknown individuals are suspected of committing similar robberies at a Jared jewelry store in Woodstock, Georgia, on April 29, 2015, and at a Zales on August 5, 2015 in Dawsonville, Georgia.
In both Georgia robberies, a female suspect entered the store and showed a handgun. During each robbery, she ordered the store employees into the restroom and zip-tied their hands. Meanwhile, a man shut the store's front door.
The female suspect then locked the front door and proceeded to remove several pieces of jewelry from the store's display cases. According to the FBI, the female suspect had visited both stores the day before the robbery and asked about the same jewelry items that were stolen.
On August 11, 2015, at around 10:10 a.m., a woman visited a REEDS jewelry store in Panama City Beach, Florida. That store was robbed with the same MO as the two earlier robberies, and the suspects appeared to be the same people.
On September 2, 2015, a Jared jewelry store was hit in Bluffton, South Carolina. The woman who robbed the store had a handgun. Another Jared was robbed on October 16, 2015, but this time it was in Sevierville, Tennessee. The female suspect matched the same description as the one in the previous robberies.
The female suspect is white and in her late 20s or early 30s; she's about 5'8" and 130 pounds.
The male suspect is a black male in his late 30s to early 40s. He is about 6'0'' tall and 250 pounds.
The FBI said that the duo has been seen in multiple vehicles in various styles.
If you are facing theft-related charges in Columbia, contact Masella Law Firm, P.A. for a personal criminal defense consultation with an experienced attorney!