Last Defendant Convicted of Robbing Lake Charles Jewelry Store Receives 20 Year Federal Prison Sentence

LAKE CHARLES, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that  Trevione James Terry, 26, of Houston, the last remaining defendant convicted in jewelry store robbery case in Lake Charles, has been sentenced. United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. sentenced Terry to 241 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Terry admitted to his involvement in the robbery of Nederland Jewelers in Lake Charles on June 8, 2020, as well as Korman Fine Jewelry in Austin, Texas on May 7, 2020.  Terry pleaded guilty to a Bill of Information on July 8, 2024, charging him with interference with commerce by robbery, and using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to information introduced in court, on May 7, 2020, Terry, along with five other co-conspirators, were involved in an armed robbery of Korman Fine Jewelry in Austin, Texas. On that date, Terry waited near the store in a white Porsche while the five others arrived at the jewelry store and exited the vehicle. The robbers burst into the store wearing masks. One of the robbers brandished a loaded firearm while shouting and ordering the employees and customers to get on the floor. Within a few seconds of bursting into the store, the robbers encountered a security guard. The armed robber pointed his gun at the security guard and shot him. Another customer was struck in the back of the head by the same robber, and he pointed his gun at other employees ordering them to the ground. Meanwhile, two other robbers smashed a Rolex watch display case and grabbed several Rolex watches. The robbers ran out of the store and were later apprehended.  Law enforcement investigators were able to tie Terry to the Korman robbery through phone records and cellular telephone data obtained after the robbery proving that Terry was responsible for setting up the Korman robbery.

On June 8, 2020, Terry and six other coconspirators traveled from Houston to Lake Charles with the intention to commit a robbery of Nederland Jewelers. On that date, co-defendant Phaezon Stewart entered the store armed with a black Springfield XD handgun and ordered the employees to get on the ground. Terry and others entered the store wearing masks and armed with hammers. While Stewart pointed the firearm at the employee victims, the others broke the glass display cases and removed over 34 Rolex watches with an estimated value of over $350,000. Stewart, Terry, and the other coconspirators then exited the store and fled the scene in a white Porsche.

The white Porsche then traveled to the L’Auberge Casino and stopped and met with a Chevrolet Impala being driven by Carey Nimmons, with Johnson Moore as a passenger. Terry exited the Porsche with a backpack containing the stolen Rolex watches and got into the Impala with Nimmons and Moore and began traveling towards a residence in Lake Charles.  Law enforcement agents were able to track the suspects to a specific area on Pryce Street in Lake Charles and began to search the area. Officers located Terry and co-defendant Joshua Evans hiding in a shed with the backpack in their possession which contained 32 of the 34 stolen Rolex watches. Nimmons was found in a nearby carport and Moore was found behind a residence less than 200 feet from where the other defendants were located, and all were subsequently arrested.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lake Charles Police Department, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and Austin Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Vermaelen. The case in the Western District of Texas was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Devlin.

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