A 55-year-old New York man has pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to sell and receive stolen goods in connection with a ring of jewelry robberies across the country, including two at a store at the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor.
On Jan. 28, the FBI announced that Salim Sakal of Brooklyn, New York, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty to an offense related to his buying and selling jewelry stolen from mall-based stores and kiosks across the country.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between May 2023 and April 2024, an organized jewelry theft ring of Colombian nationals burglarized jewelry stores and kiosks in malls in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia…