Man Accused of Robbing $1-Million of Jewelry in California Arrested in #Murfreesboro

Jan 09, 2013 at 04:04 pm by bryan


Interstate Crime Enforcement deputies arrested a fugitive wanted for robbing a resident of more than $1 million in jewelry in December at a California home, an ICE supervisor said Wednesday.

Suspect Jason Prestone, 33, of Lawndale , Calif. , was stopped for a traffic violation by ICE deputies Tuesday on Interstate 24, ICE Sgt. Shawn Applegate said. Through the traffic stop, Sgt. Agpplegate, ICE Deputy Bo Davis and patrol Deputy Shane Vaughn learned he was wanted outside of Los Angeles for aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping.

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“He was a suspect in a home invasion right before Christmas where approximately $1 million in jewelry was taken from a home at gunpoint,” Sgt. Applegate said.

After placing Prestone in custody, deputies recovered a bag of jewelry, a loaded pistol in the glove box, a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, the sergeant said.

Detective Ralph Mayercik photographed the jewelry recovered by the deputies and the photographs were emailed to the detectives in California .

“Because of the photographs emailed to California , the victim examined the photographs and identified the stolen jewelry,” Sgt. Applegate said.

With information provided by Rutherford County deputies, the California detectives recovered a rental car believed used in the alleged robbery and kidnapping.

Before deputies found the marijuana, ICE K-9 Jett indicated the presence of illegal drugs in the car. Besides sniffing out the drugs, Jett served as a deterrent. Prestone told deputies he considered running away until he saw Jett and believed he could not outrun the K-9.

“The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 Division has K-9s assigned to many divisions,” Sgt. Applegate said. “These K-9s have been a valuable tool in decreasing crimes and getting narcotics off the streets and highways of our county.”

ICE deputies charged Prestone with being a fugitive from justice, simple possession of marijuana, carrying an unlawful weapon and criminal impersonation after he allegedly used a fake driver’s license. A hearing on those cases is set March 11 in General Sessions Court. Prestone is held without bond for California detectives.

“This was a true team effort between ICE, the Criminal Investigations Division and patrol,” Sgt. Applegate said.

PHOTO: An assortment of rings, earrings and chains stolen in California was recovered by Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office deputies during a traffic stop Tuesday on Interstate 24.

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