A Long Beach man was sentenced Thursday to six years and eight months behind bars for participating in the daytime smash-and-grab robbery of a Beverly Hills jewelry store in which nearly $2.7 million worth of merchandise was stolen — and his cell phone was left at the scene.
During the hearing at the United States Courthouse in Los Angeles, Jimmy Lee Vernon III, 33, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu to pay $2.67 million in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Vernon pleaded guilty in August to one count of interference with commerce by robbery — known as a Hobbs Act crime.
During the March 23, 2022 robbery of Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills, Vernon used heavy tools to smash display cases, causing trauma to those inside the store, his plea agreement states.
Vernon then took jewelry and other items valued at nearly $2.7 million. The merchandise consisted of roughly 19 bracelets, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces, a pair of obelisks, eight rings and 20 watches, court documents show.
After the robbery, Vernon and his accomplices ran out of the store, leaving behind their Kia vehicle — which had been reported stolen out of Long Beach four days earlier, documents show. During the heist, Vernon’s cell phone fell out of his pocket while he smashed the store’s window and was later recovered by law enforcement, according to an affidavit filed in L.A. federal court.
Two days after the robbery, one of Vernon’s accomplices posted on his Instagram account numerous photographs that included large stacks of money and a message praising his “robbery gang,” according to court papers.
As for Vernon’s co-defendants, Deshon Bell, 22, of Long Beach pleaded guilty a year ago to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and was sentenced in February to a year in federal prison. Ladell Tharpe, 39, also of Long Beach pleaded guilty in September to the same charge and faces a Jan. 6 sentencing date.
Passed in the 1930s, the Hobbs Act makes it a crime to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery or extortion involving force or fear.