Held in 1 Holdup : Police Suspect 5 in String of Jewelry Heists

Five people arrested in connection with the weekend robbery of a Sherman Oaks jeweler are now believed to be part of a robbery-fencing ring responsible for at least six holdups in Southern California and one in Las Vegas during the past six months, detectives said.

Within hours of Saturday morning’s robbery at William Roberts Jewelers, Los Angeles police arrested three suspects and raided a downtown Los Angeles jewelry business where they recovered merchandise believed to have been stolen in the robbery that morning and in at least two other robberies of jewelry stores in Southern California.

Two brothers who own the downtown business, Mahmoudd and Hosslin Shapouri, were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property and were being held in lieu of $2-million bail.

Link to Earlier Thefts

Detectives said they believe the Shapouri brothers and the three robbery suspects have been involved in a series of similar crimes, not only because of the recovered merchandise but also because Saturday’s robbery was identical in method to other recent robberies. However, they declined to discuss the circumstances of Saturday’s crime or the others they believe the suspects committed.

“We feel this is part of a group that has been operating for the past six months, perpetrating a number of robberies in Southern California,” Lt. Al Durer said.

According to police, two men and a woman, one armed with a gun, entered William Roberts Jewelers around 11 a.m. Saturday and demanded the jewels in the display case. Shoppers outside the store saw the robbers flee and gave police the license plate number of the getaway car.

Detectives said they traced the car to a South-Central Los Angeles house in the 4200 block of West Slauson Avenue where they arrested the three suspects: Sabrina Marie Phillips, 24; Ricci Davis, 26, and Leroy Bell, 43. All were being held at Van Nuys Jail, Phillips in lieu of $11,000 bail, and the two men in lieu of $33,000 bail each.

Hours later, detectives raided the Shapouris’ business at 625 S. Hill St., where they arrested Mahmoudd Shapouri, 28, and recovered a “substantially large” amount of jewelry--including most or all of the $150,000 worth of jewelry taken from William Roberts Jewelers, police said. Hosslin Shapouri, 27, turned himself in to the Van Nuys police station Sunday and was arrested after questioning.

Detectives said they are still sorting through jewelry recovered from the Shapouris’ business to determine whether more of it was stolen.