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2 Arrested in 2015 Arkansas Jewelry Store Robbery
Police have arrested the two men who allegedly brandished handguns during the smash-and-grab robbery of Roberson’s Fine Jewelry in Little Rock.
Little Rock, Ark.--Officials said Tuesday that two gunmen have been arrested in connection with the 2015 smash-and-grab robbery of an Arkansas jewelry store.
Christopher R. Thyer, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced via a press release the arrests of 27-year-old Quinshod Shaw and 29-year-old Darris Denton, both of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The two men used handguns during the midday robbery of Roberson’s Fine Jewelry in Little Rock in September 2015, according to the release.
Shaw was taken into custody Monday afternoon in Norman, Oklahoma, and appeared before U.S. District Judge Charles B. Goodwin in the Western District of Oklahoma. Denton, meanwhile, was served an arrest warrant on Monday while being held in the McAlford Corrections Center in Stringfield, Oklahoma, on unrelated state charges.
Following the arrests, a second superseding indictment, returned by a grand jury on Feb. 7, was unsealed. It added Shaw and Denton to the list of five defendants previously indicted in connection with the robbery, Thyer said.
On Sept. 22, 2015, Shaw and Denton entered Roberson’s Fine Jewelry along with Tony Gabriel, 49, and Siee Ramon Russell, 38.
While Shaw and Denton allegedly pointed guns at employees and a customer, Russell smashed the jewelry cases with a hammer and Gabriel grabbed jewelry items--including diamond earrings, bracelets and rings--valued at more than $300,000.
The four men fled the store and left the scene of the crime in a stolen truck, which then was abandoned in a nearby neighborhood. In that neighborhood, the group is alleged to have met up with Lenora Grant, 60, Jobie Kirk, 51, and Darryl Madden, 52. All seven of them drove back to Oklahoma in two vehicles.
Using broken shards of glass from the smashed cases, the Little Rock Police Department was able to obtain blood samples and identify Russell’s DNA.
Police also found a hat used by one of the perpetrators during the robbery in the stolen truck that was abandoned; a DNA sample taken from that item identified Gabriel.
Meanwhile, surveillance video taken by Roberson’s confirmed what happened that day.
With the arrests of Shaw and Denton, all perpetrators in the case now are in custody, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
An indictment naming Gabriel and Russell was returned April 6, 2016. That original three-count indictment charged both with conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act violation (interfering with commerce by means of robbery), aiding and abetting a Hobbs Act violation, and aiding
and abetting brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Both men pleaded guilty in October 2016 before U.S. District Court Judge J. Leon Holmes. They will be sentenced at a later date. According to Thyer, Gabriel and Russell admitted to the facts of the robbery in their plea agreements, including everyone’s individual role.
The three getaway drivers--Grant, Kirk and Madden--were named in a first superseding indictment returned in July 2016 and containing the same charges. They are set to go to trial on April 24.
The second superseding indictment, the one that was unsealed Monday, also contains the same charges and names the two gunmen, Shaw and Denton.
After being transported to Little Rock, they will appear before Judge Holmes for plea and arraignment at a later date.
Both men pleaded guilty in October 2016 before U.S. District Court Judge J. Leon Holmes. They will be sentenced at a later date. According to Thyer, Gabriel and Russell admitted to the facts of the robbery in their plea agreements, including everyone’s individual role.
The three getaway drivers--Grant, Kirk and Madden--were named in a first superseding indictment returned in July 2016 and containing the same charges. They are set to go to trial on April 24.
The second superseding indictment, the one that was unsealed Monday, also contains the same charges and names the two gunmen, Shaw and Denton.
After being transported to Little Rock, they will appear before Judge Holmes for plea and arraignment at a later date.
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