Crime & Safety
Tip Leads Police to $200,000 Jewelry Cache and Diamond Theft Suspects
Some of the stolen jewelry came from Samuels Jewelers in South County Center, police said.
A confidential tip helped St. Charles Police nab two men now being investigated in jewelry thefts in multiple states. Police said officers found a cache of more than $200,000 in stolen jewelry.
Police found the stolen jewelry when they searched the men and their rental car Thursday. Some of the recovered jewelry was reported stolen from Samuels Jewelers in South County Center.
Quinton Garrus, 52, of Baltimore, was charged Friday with receiving stolen property. A second man who was arrested has not yet been charged in St. Charles County.
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Garrus had warrants for felony stealing conspiracy and failure to appear in Maryland. Police said he also matched a description from a surveillance video in a burglary at Samuels Jewelers at South County Center.
St. Charles Police said a confidential tip led officers to stake out a room at the Hampton Inn in St. Charles. Officers learned one of the men in the room had an outstanding warrant in Maryland.
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After the men checked out of the hotel Thursday, police stopped their rental vehicle.
The officer reported that as he approached the SUV, he saw the driver put something down his pants. Police said Garrus, the driver, gave the officer a false ID from Maryland. He later was positively identified.
The officer searched Garrus and retrieved a small plastic bag with several diamond rings with retail tags still on them. A car search found a stash of high quality diamond merchandise and jewelry.
A Samuels Jewelers representative identified some of the jewelry with retail tags as their merchandise.
Garrus and the second man are targets of a larger federal investigation involving thefts from jewelry stores that involve distractions that target jewelry stores in multiple states, according to a court document.
Garrus is being held in St. Charles County jail. Bail was set at $45,000, cash only.
For more crime information on Mehlville-Oakville Patch, see the following articles:
- Police: $180K of Jewelry Stolen from Safe at South County Center
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