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Press Release

Second Man Sentenced for Jewelry Store Robberies

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Aquabeus Demond Moore, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today to thirty-two years and one day by the Honorable Richard M. Gergel in Charleston, South Carolina.  Moore was convicted of five separate counts, one count of Conspiracy to Commit Robbery Affecting Interstate Commerce, two counts of Robbery Affecting Interstate Commerce, and two counts of Brandishing a Firearm During a Violent Crime, following a four-day jury trial in United States District Court in Charleston.

Witness testimony and the evidence presented by the government during the trial established that Moore and others travelled from Atlanta to rob Sylvan Jewelers in Columbia, SC, on February 19, 2015, and MP Demetre Jewelers in Charleston, SC, on March 4, 2015.  During both robberies, two masked men entered the jewelry stores during business hours.  One man held the employees at gunpoint while the other man smashed the Rolex cases with sledgehammers.  In total, the robbers stole 88 Rolex watches from the jewelry stores, valued at over one million dollars.  Among other evidence presented during the trial, cell site location evidence established that, after traveling from Atlanta, Moore’s phone was in Columbia during the time of the Sylvans robbery and in Charleston during the time of the MP Demetre robbery.  Further evidence presented during the trial established that Moore had a picture of one of the stolen Rolex watches on his phone.  Investigators also recovered Moore’s fingerprint from the getaway vehicle used in the robbery of MP Demetre Jewelers.  

The conviction is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, City of Charleston Police Department and Columbia Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Nathan Williams and Emily Limehouse prosecuted the case.

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Contact

Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Updated August 30, 2017

Topic
Firearms Offenses