Local News in Brief : Suspects in Valencia Jewel Theft Identified

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said Friday that they have identified two men who threatened to blow up a Valencia jewelry store before robbing it.

Deputy Ken Kyle said investigators have arrest warrants for Ronald A. Walker, 22, and Tony E. Perrone, 21, both of the Santa Clarita Valley. Their whereabouts are unknown, Kyle said.

The Zales store in the 25800 block of McBean Parkway lost about $184,000 in jewelry in the Feb. 17 robbery, authorities said.

Deputies said witnesses told them that a man wearing a disguise, including a false beard, walked into the shop and placed a walkie-talkie and a bag containing what appeared to be dynamite sticks on the store’s counter. He then walked out of the store and used another walkie-talkie to direct two saleswomen to fill the bag with jewels or he would detonate the explosives.

The robber jumped on a motorcycle driven by another man, and they escaped, authorities said. The cycle was later found and traced to Perrone. Perrone was arrested on suspicion of robbery, but deputies at the time believed that he was an accessory in the incident.

Perrone would not reveal the names of the robbers but made a phone call while in custody that resulted in $81,000 worth of the jewelry being recovered, authorities said. The jewelry was dropped off at a location in Canyon Country, where it was retrieved by deputies, authorities said. Perrone was released on $6,000 bail the morning after the robbery.

Kyle said investigators this week gathered evidence that Perrone did take part in the robbery with Walker. Perrone’s bail was revoked Friday while authorities searched for both suspects and the remaining $103,000 in missing jewelry.