FEDERAL CHARGES FILED AGAINST DALLAS AND MESQUITE MEN

Four jewelry stores in two cities over a period of six months. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas says those numbers add up to federal charges against a pair of men.

The two men are accused of the armed robbery of jewelry stores in Dallas and Lewisville, Texas, from October of last year through April of this year. Officials say the Dallas man, 37 years old, and the Mesquite man, 35, are each charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and using firearms in relation to a crime of violence.

According to federal court documents filed in Dallas, the men robbed a Preston Road jewelry store on October 18 of last year and then returned to the store on February 4 of this year and robbed it a second time. They then allegedly robbed a Vista Ridge Mall store in Lewiston on February 24 and returned to the mall to rob a separate jewelry store on April 29, 2014.

Officials claim that during the robberies, one of the men would enter and ask to see diamond rings. The other would use a handgun to force store employees onto the floor while display case jewelry was taken.

On two occasions, witnesses said they saw the men leaving in a red car.

The two men were stopped for a traffic violation in February in a vehicle matching the described car, officials said.

Both defendants face up to five years behind bars on the conspiracy charges and up to life in federal prison for the alleged use of a firearm in the course of a violent crime.

In such cases, defendants can benefit from the use of an attorney experienced not only in defending clients at trial but also in protecting them in negotiations.

Source: inforney.com, “Serial armed robbers, who robbed four metroplex jewelry stores, are arrested on federal charges,” May 23, 2014