SALT LAKE CITY – Two men accused of stealing an estimated $ 70,000 worth of jewelry on Halloween 2019 have now been charged.
Jerome Welton McWIlliams, 29, and Darnel Batts, 33, were tried in 3rd District Court on Friday for aggravated robbery, a first degree crime.
On October 31, 2019, McWilliams and Batts entered Stroud Jewelry, 905 E. 2100 South, pretending to be interested in purchasing multiple pieces of jewelry. While looking at the rings, McWilliams instructed Batts “to go to the car to get a 20G bag because he was going to buy his girlfriend a couple of rings,” the charges state.
When Batts returned with a travel bag, McWilliams grabbed the owner, who was helping the men, and, according to the indictment, pushed him against a wall.
“McWilliams instructed (him) to open all the showcases so they could take everything with them,” the indictments read.
McWilliams then pulled a pistol from his waistband and aimed it at the owner’s face. After picking up an estimated $ 70,000 worth of jewelry, the men set off in a Dodge Charger.
Police who processed the crime scene found a parking ticket for Salt Lake City International Airport and a King’s Custom Jewelers business card. Detectives learned that one of the suspects had been to King’s Custom Jewelers at 701 E. 2100 South a week earlier. According to a 2019 search warrant affidavit, King’s employees feared their business would be “enveloped” by the men.
Salt Lake police released surveillance photos of the men after the robbery. A week after the pictures were released, New York City-based Jewelers Security Alliance – a private organization that specializes in jewelry-related crimes and prosecutes nationwide – contacted Salt Lake police to tell them that they ” the suspects were immediately identified as involved in a series of eight different robberies outside California in the past four months, ”the affidavit reads.
According to the new indictment, McWilliams is currently in California and Batts is believed to be in California.
The surveillance video shows men at Stroud Jewelry, 905 E. 2100 South, when it was robbed on October 31, 2019. Two men have now been charged with assault. Salt Lake Police
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