NORFOLK, Va. - Three men were arrested for stealing nearly $150,000 worth of jewelry from the Navy Exchange on April 18.
Calls reporting the incident were received around 4:30 a.m.
A search warrant says one of the three suspects told authorities they planned the robbery and staked out the Navy Exchange before breaking in.
Winston-Salem Police in North Carolina arrested 18-year-old Austin Underwood, 20-year-old Austin Ingles and 19-year-old Brandon Monahan.
All three suspects are facing charges in connection with the jewelry heist, according to a search warrant.
The search warrant states surveillance video shows two people using rocks to break glass windows to get inside the building.
Authorities said they took seven Rolex watches and gold jewelry.
“That is very surprising to me. I wouldn’t think they would be able to get away with that much especially out of the Navy Exchange,” said one woman who lives nearby.
The plan came unraveled days later when a pawn shop owner in Winston-Salem called authorities after the three suspects entered the store and tried to sell one of the Rolex watches, according to court documents. One of the men apparently said they had more watches to sell.
Police questioned and arrested Monahan and Ingles for six counts of possession of stolen property and six counts of the sale of stolen property.
During an interview with police, Ingles said Underwood was the third suspect who drove the getaway car.
Law enforcement searched Ingles’ Norfolk apartment and found a map of the Navy Exchange and two rocks in the living room.
Police said they’ve recovered about $70,000 worth of Rolex watches and gold jewelry as a result of the investigation. They said the three suspects are not members of the armed services or associated with the Navy in any way.
Employees at the Navy Exchange call this situation highly unusual.
