LOS ANGELES
A Long Beach man was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison for his role in a brazen 2022 smash-and-grab robbery at a Beverly Hills jewelry store that netted more than $2.6 million in merchandise—loot he later flaunted on Instagram.
U.S. District Judge George H. Wu also ordered Ladell Tharpe, 39, to pay $2,674,600 in restitution. Tharpe pleaded guilty last September to one count of Hobbs Act robbery.
(News Report Two Years Ago)
According to authorities, in March 2022, Tharpe and three accomplices—Deshon Bell, 22, Jimmy Lee Vernon III, 33, and a juvenile—used sledgehammers and crowbars to smash display cases inside a Beverly Hills jewelry store while customers and staff were present.
They made off with 19 bracelets, 20 watches, and other high-end items.
One of the getaway cars had been reported stolen four days earlier and was abandoned at the scene. The crew fled in another vehicle driven by Bell.
Two days after the heist, Tharpe posted a photo on Instagram showing large stacks of cash with the caption “Robbery Gang.”
Tharpe has been in custody since March 2023.
Bell was sentenced in February to one year and one day in prison. Vernon, whose cell phone fell out during the robbery and was later recovered by investigators, was sentenced to 80 months. Both were also ordered to pay $2.67 million in restitution.
The FBI and Beverly Hills Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Kevin B. Reidy prosecuted the case.