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    • The FBI is seeking information on four masked robbery suspects in Dearborn, Illinois and Missouri
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    The FBI is seeking information on four masked robbery suspects in Dearborn, Illinois and Missouri

    Online Niel Posted on

    FBI officials are seeking information about masked suspects who allegedly robbed four jewelry stores, including one in Dearborn.

    The four robbers alternately carried an AR-style rifle, a handgun and a hammer and targeted jewelry stores in Illinois, Missouri and Michigan, according to a news release from the FBI’s Chicago office.

    The suspects also wore costume masks, according to surveillance video the FBI released of three of the robberies.

    Video footage from Aug. 7 shows a suspect wearing a Michael Meyers-like mask using an AR-style rifle to break down the front door of Mariam Jewelry, a Dearborn store at 7012 Schaefer.

    Another suspect, wearing another mask with sunglasses and gloves, reaches for two blurry victims with a hammer in front of the camera.

    The first suspect points the gun at the victims as both flee the scene and get into a car parked right in front of the store.

    The suspects allegedly stole jewelry from the store’s windows and left in a black vehicle with no license plates, according to the release.

    The FBI also released video footage of three other connected armed robberies in Bridgeview, Illinois, on July 13, 2023, and January 9, 2024.

    Douglas DePodesta, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Chicago division, asked in the statement that members of the public review the footage and provide tips.

    “The perpetrators of these crimes showed a blatant disregard for public safety and the rule of law while committing these insane robberies,” DePodesta said. “Their actions will haunt these victims for a lifetime and we are asking for the public’s help to bring them to justice before someone is killed.”

    The FBI is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.

    Officials ask that anyone with information contact the FBI at 1-800-225-5324 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

    “Don’t let costumed masks distract from the seriousness of these robberies,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in the statement. “The individuals who committed these robberies terrorized and endangered the safety of customers and employees alike. I urge anyone with information about these crimes to contact law enforcement without delay.”

    In a separate case known from Metro Detroit, it was a Dearborn man arrested in prison on Oct. 18 after being charged with killing the owner of a Hamtramck jewelry store posing as a utility worker to enter the victim’s house.

    Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told The Detroit News he believes Murray was targeted because of his business.

    Police in Novi also recently investigated a Sept. 7 jewelry theft of approximately $10,000 in stolen property at Gold Buy and Jewelry Pawn Loans.

    Two suspects left the store with the stolen goods while two other suspects distracted an employee, police said.

    Michigan law enforcement agencies reported 3,265 robberies in 2022, the most recent year for which crime statistics are available through the Michigan Crime Reporting Program.

    Reported robbery incidents in Michigan decreased 9.3 percent from 2021 to 2022 and decreased 35.3 percent from 2018, according to the 2022 MICR Annual Report.

    Local law enforcement also reported 23,603 incidents of theft by retail fraud in 2022.

    Law enforcement officers reported solving 24 percent of reported robbery cases that year through arrest or prosecution. The agencies also reported solving 12.1 percent of a total of 104,416 theft cases that year with an arrest or prosecution.

    Online Niel
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