Jewelry Heists
PERRIS – A 24-year-old man suspected of joining others in a series of smash-and-grab jewelry heists, including one in Perris, was released from custody Friday after posting a $100,000 bond.
Joshua Matthew Lewis of Inglewood was arrested and booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta Thursday on suspicion of robbery and vandalism.
Lewis obtained the requisite bail and was let out of the Murrieta jail Friday morning.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, early on the afternoon of last July 30, the suspect and a half-dozen others allegedly burst into a jewelry shop in the 1600 block of Perris Boulevard, used pepper spray to subdue a security guard and proceeded to smash the glass on display cases.
Sgt. Dave Tinker alleged the suspects grabbed items worth an estimated total $100,000, after which they fled the location.
Identical smash-and-grab robberies occurred in Corona, Thousand Oaks and other outlets region-wide, according to Tinker.
Authorities ultimately identified most of the suspects through a multi- jurisdictional investigation. However, Lewis was not linked to the robberies until late last summer.
Tinker said that sheriff’s investigators obtained an arrest warrant for him but had difficulties tracking him down.
On Thursday morning, detectives located him in Riverside and took him into custody without incident, according to the sheriff’s spokesman.
Background information on Lewis was unavailable, and the custody status of his alleged cohorts could not be confirmed.
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