Credit: Street People of Beverly Hills
One of the men behind a smash-and-grab robbery in Beverly Hill was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
Ladell Tharpe of Long Beach pleaded guilty last September after he and his accomplices, two men and a minor, drove three cars to a jewelry store on South Beverly Drive and used sledgehammers and crow bars to break the display cases before making away with more than $2.6 million worth of jewelry on March 22, 2022.
Authorities said Tharpe and his group stole at least 19 bracelets, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces, a pair of obelisks, eight rings, and 20 watches before running away from the store in a getaway vehicle, which had been stolen four days prior to the heist.
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A couple of days after the robbery, Tharpe, 39, posted pictures of himself holding a large stacks of cash on Instagram with the text “Robbery Gang,” the Justice Department said.
Tharpe, who has been in federal custody since March 2023, was also ordered to pay $2,674,600 in restitution.
“Brazen criminal action that directly targets our small businesses in Los Angeles County will not be tolerated,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally. “The consequences for such action are severe and penalized accordingly.”
One of the accomplices, Jimmy Lee Vernon III of Long Beach, also pleaded guilty and was also sentenced to over six years in prison. Authorities said Vernon had dropped his cellphone during the robbery, and the phone was recovered by investigators.
The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department conducted the joint investigation into the case.
