Loose Diamond Heist Leads Investigators on a Stone Chase
Online, January 6, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Diamond heist leads to reopening a twenty year-old unsolved mystery case. The news broke late yesterday morning that infamous jewelry thief,The Stone Bandit, was apprehended and taken into custody outside his Wilmington, NC hideout.
Police entered the premises at approximately 3:15 am Saturday morning and caught the assailant asleep at his dining room table. The table was strewn with loose diamonds stolen Friday night from local jewelry store, Van Scoy Diamonds.
"We collected roughly over a hundred thousand dollars worth of loose diamonds and uncut stones from the suspect's residence. We assumed he had fallen asleep while trying to weigh and sort through the stolen gems," stated a local law enforcement officer.
At the time, officers had no idea who the suspect was. The man was taken into custody and questioned. It wasn't until his fingerprints were ran that alarm bells went off.
"The fingerprint analysis came back, and we were stunned. They were The Stone Bandit's, who had gotten away with a string of robberies back in the early 90's. In 1993, he narrowly avoided authorities and subsequently disappeared. The case went cold in 2001," stated an investigator.
The robbery of the Van Scoy store appeared to be the work of amateurs, however,not an international jewelry thief."There were fingerprints all over the store," stated a Van Scoy representative. "The back window had been broken, and muddy boot prints were everywhere."
Authorities were baffled why this infamous thief would have been so reckless. Upon questioning, the suspect stated that he had no idea what had happened. He even claimed to be an employee of the Van Scoy Diamond store, which was later verified to be true. According to his statements, he was closing up for the night when he was attacked. Powerful drugs were found in the man's blood work, and false finger pads had been placed on his fingertips.
"It appears that The Stone Bandit is taunting us. He wants us to know that he's back," stated an investigator.
This latest stunt will be the first in over 20 years for the fine jewelry thief. There are still over a million dollars of certified loose diamonds unaccounted for. An award for any leads on the whereabouts of The Stone Bandit is being offered.
If you want to learn more about the loose diamond collection available at Van Scoy Diamonds, please visit www.vanscoydiamonds.com.
Or
Contact us:
Van Scoy Diamonds
3825 High Point Road
Greensboro, NC - 27407
Tel: 336-855-0103
Email: info@vanscoydiamonds.com