Arkansas Gem Heist Leads to Arrest of 7 Oklahoma Men

A federal prosecutor says seven Oklahomans were involved in a bold but quick 2015 jewelry store robbery in Little Rock, including two men arrested Monday.

U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer said Tuesday that Quinshod Shaw, 27, was arrested in Norman, Oklahoma, while Darris Denton, 29, was served with a warrant at a prison in Stringfield, Oklahoma. Both men are from Oklahoma City and have not yet had a court appearance in Arkansas. Five others were arrested previously, and two have pleaded guilty.

Shaw and Denton are accused of pointing guns at jewelry store workers and customers during a lunchtime robbery Sept. 22, 2015. Another man smashed display cases while a fourth grabbed jewelry including diamond earrings, bracelets and rings and placed the items in a bag. Thyer said more than $300,000 worth of merchandise was stolen and that none was recovered.

Tony Gabriel, 49, and Siee Ramon Russell, 38, both from Oklahoma City, have pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime and are to be sentenced later by U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes, the prosecutor said. They face seven years to life, though under sentencing guidelines their terms could be less. Three others are set for trial April 24.

The robbery took only a few minutes. Prosecutors say the four who entered the store and three getaway drivers abandoned a stolen truck at a church and school a block away, then returned to Oklahoma City in two vehicles. Blood recovered from glass shards in the store led investigators to Russell, while DNA recovered from a hat in the abandoned truck led them to Gabriel.

Thyer announced the arrests while touting a joint operation among state and local agencies that has resulted in the arrest of 41 people under a “Violence Reduction Network” initiative that targeted gun- and drug-related crimes.