Some criminals make it ridiculously easy for the police to catch them. That’s what happened when one man in Florida snatched a tray of gold necklaces from a mall kiosk and then tried to sell them at a pawn shop near his house. Given the surveillance footage from both stores, detectives said that it wasn’t hard to find the thief and arrest him.
Jewelry thief made it “pretty easy” for detectives to catch him
On July 20, 25-year-old Dezmone Johnson was caught on video posing as a customer at a jewelry kiosk called Royal Jewelers at Treasure Coast Mall when he stole a tray of multiple gold necklaces valued at around $22,000 total, according to WPBF and a social media post by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
Lt. Chris Morales said that the thief engaged with the clerk for a few minutes and then left before returning later. “The clerk brings out of a tray of, let’s say, seven of eight less expensive necklaces according to him,” he said, “and he just grabs the tray and runs out.”
in the surveillance footage, the clerk can be heard yelling at Johnson as he escaped. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get very far.
Detectives found footage of Johnson’s vehicle from cameras outside of the mall, grabbed the license plate, and found that the car was tied to an address in Lauderhill in Broward County. They decided to check a pawn shop close by and discovered that Johnson had been again caught on film trying to sell the necklaces later at around 3:13 p.m. that same day.
Morales said, “Lo and behold, the owner says, ‘Yeah, he was just in here trying to pawn a few necklaces.’ Again, making it pretty easy for our detectives.”
The sheriff’s office said that Broward County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force assisted detectives in taking Johnson into custody.
The department says he was charged with robbery by sudden snatching and that this charge will be added “to his extensive criminal history.” Morales said that Johnson had “a history of violence” and had “access to weapons” in his past crimes.
Johnson was in Broward County Jail for a short time but is free on bond as he awaits trial.
