Long Beach Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Daylight Smash-and-Grab Robbery of Beverly Hills Jewelry Store that Netted Nearly $2.7 Million

LOS ANGELES – A Long Beach man pleaded guilty today to participating in the March 2022 daylight smash-and-grab robbery of a Beverly Hills jewelry store in which nearly $2.7 million worth of merchandise was stolen.

Jimmy Lee Vernon III, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act). He has been in federal custody since September 2022.

According to his plea agreement, on March 23, 2022, Vernon committed a robbery of the Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills store. Vernon used heavy tools to smash the store’s display case while employees were present, causing fear of injury to people inside the store.

Vernon then removed jewelry and other items from the store display cases valued at approximately $2,674,600. The merchandise consisted of approximately 19 bracelets, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces, a pair of obelisks, eight rings, and 20 watches, court documents state.

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 before the robbery, according to other court documents. During the robbery, Vernon’s cellphone fell out of his sweatpants pocket while he smashed the jewelry’s store’s window, was left behind and later recovered by law enforcement, according to an affidavit previously filed in this case.

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,” court documents state.

United States District Judge George H. Wu scheduled an October 10 sentencing hearing, at which time Vernon will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

As for Vernon’s co-defendants, Deshon Bell, 22, of Long Beach, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and was sentenced on February 26 to one year and one day in federal prison. Ladell Tharpe, 39, of Long Beach, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and faces an October 8 trial date.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Kevin B. Reidy of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.