Two Convicted Of Robbing 70-Year-Old Jeweler
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Two men have been found guilty of robbing a 70-year-old man at gunpoint of $30,000 worth of jewelry last year in west suburban Riverside.
A jury Friday found 20-year-old Saul Sandoval and 21-year-old Juan Ramos guilty of armed robbery for the Aug. 3, 2014, heist, according to a statement from Riverside police. The verdict was delivered after a five-day trial at the Maybrook Courthouse in west suburban Maywood.
The two men followed a jeweler from the Swap-O-Rama in Chicago to a home in the 100 block of East Burlington in Riverside about 5:30 p.m., police said after their arrest in August.
The 70-year-old jeweler was beat up, pushed to the ground and had his shirt pulled over his face so he couldn't see the robbers, who were masked and armed with a handgun, police said.
When the victim's friend, a 76-year-old woman, came out to intervene, one of the robbers pointed the gun at her and said, "Stay out of this b – – – -," police said. The man was robbed of $30,000 worth of jewelry.
The men then ran to a waiting car in a parking lot at Burlington Street and Cowley Road, police said.
Police obtained surveillance video of the victim's car being followed out of the parking lot by the robbers' car, and arrested Sandoval and Ramos, according to police. Both were identified in a lineup.
According to police, both Sandoval and Ramos are admitted gang members with criminal histories. They are allegedly part of a crew that would stake out the Swap-O-Rama, follow jewelers home and rob them.
Ramos, of the 300 block of East Jackson Street in Joliet, and Sandoval, of the 2800 block of South Keeler, are scheduled to be sentenced on May 12, police said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
