A Long Beach resident has acknowledged his involvement in the smash-and-grab theft of over $2.7 million worth of goods from a jewelry store in Beverly Hills in 2022.
Ladell Tharpe, 39, entered a guilty plea to one count of robbery interfering with commerce on Monday, according to a news release from the US Department of Justice.
Tharpe was allegedly a getaway driver and watchman for the robbers that targeted Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills on March 23, 2022, according to the prosecution.
Along with Long Beach resident Deshon Bell, 22, and 32-year-old Jimmy Lee Vernon III, he also confesses to the heist. Vernon’s sentencing is set for December, whilst Bell received a term of one year and one day in federal prison.
They broke into the store with sledgehammers and axes in the middle of the day, took valuables, and fled fast.
Along with revealing Vernon’s guilty plea, the DOJ revealed that the burglars fled with approximately $2.67 million worth of jewelry, including 20 watches, 19 bracelets, 8 rings, 7 pairs of earrings, 4 necklaces, and 2 decorative obelisks.
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Bell was mandated to pay that sum in restitution in addition to serving a year in prison.
When Tharpe is sentenced in January, he could spend as much as 20 years in federal prison.
