A Long Beach man who prosecutors say took part in a $2.6 million smash-and-grab robbery at a Beverly Hills jewelry store, then posted incriminating evidence to Instagram, received a 7-year federal prison term on Monday.
Ladell Tharpe, 39, pleaded guilty in September to one charge of interference with commerce by robbery, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He was also ordered to pay $2.67 million in restitution during the sentencing hearing in federal court in Los Angeles.
He’s the last of three defendants to be sentenced in connection with the robbery, which unfolded on March 22, 2022 at Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills, prosecutors said.
The Beverly Hills robbery
“Tharpe and his accomplices, Deshon Bell, 22, (and) Jimmy Lee Vernon III, 33, both from Long Beach, as well as an unnamed minor drove three vehicles to a jewelry store in Beverly Hills and used sledgehammers and crow bars to break the glass surrounding the merchandise while employees and customers were present,” according to a DOJ statement …