LOS ANGELES
A Long Beach man pleaded guilty Monday to a federal criminal charge for participating in the daylight smash-and-grab robbery of a Beverly Hills jewelry store in 2022, officials stated.
More than $2.6 million in merchandise was stolen, which he later displayed on Instagram.
Ladell Tharpe, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act).
U.S. District Judge George H. Wu scheduled a Jan. 6 sentencing hearing for Tharpe. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Tharpe has been in federal custody since March 2023.
(News Report 2022)
According to his plea agreement, on March 23, 2022, Deshon Bell, 22, and Jimmy Lee Vernon III, 33, both from Long Beach, along with other co-conspirators, robbed a luxury jewelry store in Beverly Hills.
Tharpe led the vehicles transporting the robbers to the location and also served as a lookout. Bell was one of the getaway drivers.
At the store, Vernon and others used heavy tools to smash display cases while employees and customers were inside.
They stole at least 19 bracelets, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces, a pair of obelisks, eight rings, and 20 watches, totaling approximately $2.67 million.
The group then fled in the car Bell was driving.
After the robbery, Tharpe posted images of large amounts of cash on Instagram, captioned “Robbery Gang.”
Bell and Vernon each have pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery.
On February 26, Judge Wu sentenced Bell to one year and one day in federal prison and ordered him to pay $2,674,600 in restitution.
The sentencing hearing for Vernon, who has been in federal custody since September 2022, is scheduled for December 5.
The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Kevin B. Reidy of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.