Authorities Seize $4 Million in Allegedly Stolen Jewelry

Riverside County sheriff’s investigators have cracked a jewelry-theft ring targeting high-end boutiques from Beverly Hills to Palm Desert and recovered more than $4 million in stolen goods and $109,000 in cash, authorities said Friday.

The robberies, which focused most recently on Palm Desert’s glittering luxury shopping strip over the last few months, had shaken merchants and customers, raising concerns about security in the affluent area.

“We’re not a sleepy little place anymore,” said Sheriff Bob Doyle. “There may be a mentality it’s an easier place to hit. These dirt bags need to understand that if they come into our area, we will arrest you and ... make sure you are fully prosecuted.”

In the most serious theft, two robbers broke into Estate Jewelry Collection in Palm Desert’s El Paseo district May 19, forcing two female employees to strip naked and binding them with duct tape, authorities said. The robbers were in the store about half an hour; one threatened the employees with sexual assault.

Freddy Constante, 24, and the alleged getaway driver, Virgen Becerra, 27, were charged with armed robbery. They are in custody in the Indio Jail on $1-million bail. Suspect Joshua Constante remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous, authorities said.

The three are part of a network that hit jewelry stores in Beverly Hills and Artesia earlier this year, Doyle said. Others in the organization have been targeted for arrest, officials said.

The cache was seized through nine search warrants executed around Los Angeles. Officials displayed sparkling rings, bejeweled watches, diamond-encrusted necklaces and stacks of $100 bills that were seized.

A robbery of about $100,000 of merchandise at El Paseo Jewelry Exchange on Monday afternoon remains under investigation, officials said.

Thieves made another robbery attempt at a shop on El Paseo earlier this month.

“It seems bizarre; it’s all happened at once,” said Kevin Grace, manager of De Luca Jewelers, on El Paseo for six years.

“You used to hear about some smash-and-grabs, but it’s progressed to armed robbery,” he said.

Grace’s store, equipped with a security guard and a set of locking double doors, was not targeted.