Watches, Bracelets Taken in Capital : Jeweler Charged in Stolen-Goods Case

A jeweler who lives in North Hollywood was arrested Wednesday on a federal charge that he received jewelry stolen in one of the largest robberies ever committed in Washington, D.C.

Saied Kalimi Aframian, 28, owns a downtown jewelry store that was searched by Los Angeles Police Department detectives in an unrelated investigation into stolen jewelry, police and FBI spokesmen said.

The detectives found watches and jewelry that were traced to a holdup at a Neiman-Marcus department store in Washington on Sept. 25, FBI spokesman Fred Reagan said. A police spokesman said the items included “expensive watches, some bracelets, necklaces, medallions, some earrings, a full array of jewelry.”

Two men, one carrying a pistol, robbed the store of 50 men’s and women’s watches and 25 diamond rings, District of Columbia police reported at the time.

Although the FBI report put the value of the stolen goods at $500,000, police reports at the time estimated the loss at $200,000 to $300,000. Neiman-Marcus spokesmen in Washington and at corporate headquarters in Dallas refused to say how much was stolen.

Aframian was arrested on warrants issued by a federal magistrate in Washington and arraigned before U.S. magistrate Volney V. Brown Jr. on a charge of receiving stolen property, Reagan said. He was later released on $25,000 bail.

Reagan said it was not known whether the items found in Aframian’s store were all or only part of the jewelry stolen in the robbery.

If convicted, Aframian faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.