Two sledgehammer-wielding thugs who helped jack $1.7 million in jewelry and watches — including 70 Rolexes — in a brazen Westchester County heist were nabbed in New Jersey on Tuesday, the feds said.
Kevin Williams, 26, Byron Wilson, 24, and two cohorts drove a stolen dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee from Jersey to the Westchester Square shopping plaza in Hartsdale around 11 a.m. Dec. 16, according to a statement from acting US Attorney Matthew Podolsky of the Southern District of New York.
The criminals, dressed all in black and carrying hammers, stormed a jewelry store there and began smashing display cases as shocked customers and workers cowered in fear, authorities said.
The masked bandits snatched up pricey pieces that included diamonds, rings, necklaces, earrings and luxury watches — including the Rolexes worth more than $1 million all on their own, officials said.
Then, they hustled to their stolen Jeep — with their bags of illicit loot in tow — and hightailed it back to the Garden State, Podolsky said.
Investigators tracked their cell phones afterward and found that while Wilson returned to their shared home in Irvington, NJ — a city of about 60,000 just west of Newark — Williams took a trip to the Diamond District in Midtown Manhattan.
A few hours later, the poaching pair posed with their co-conspirators for pictures in which they all held fat stacks of cash, the statement said.
Wilson also was busy researching the phrase “hartsdale news” on his phone and reading articles about the heist, including one titled, “Tarrytown Jewelers in Hartsdale victim of robbery in broad daylight,” officials said.
He Googled “tudor geneve watch,” too — apparently to try to learn more about some of the costly items the gang had stolen, the feds said.
But his and Williams’ luck ran out Tuesday when they were collared and charged with two federal counts involving conspiracy to commit robbery.
Each count brings with it a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The pair were set to be arraigned Tuesday in White Plains federal court.
“As alleged, Kevin Williams and Byron Wilson, along with their co-conspirators, carried out the violent robbery of a jewelry store in broad daylight,” Podolsky said.
“Armed with sledgehammers, the defendants smashed their way in and then plundered the store of about $1.7 million in jewelry, diamonds, and luxury watches, all while innocent customers and employees hid for their safety.
“Today’s arrests should make clear that if you commit such brazen and dangerous crimes in this District, we will find you and hold you responsible.”
