FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Two men arrested in a jewelry store heist at the Galleria mall in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend were arraigned in federal court Monday.
Malcolm Anwar Williams, 37, and Zavier Mcgee, 34, were arrested Sunday afternoon after a chase by multiple police agencies in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Cellphone video showed masked thieves smashing jewelry cases with hammers, sending shoppers who mistook the noise for gunshots scurrying for safety at the mall.
Authorities said the men smashed their way through the glass display cases at Mayors Jewelers about 3:30 p.m.
"It sounded like an explosion, actually," mall patron Margie Ramirez said.
Cellphone video provided by a Local 10 News viewer shows one of the robbers rifling through a display case at the jewelry store. Seconds later, the crooks are seen running through the mall as a Fort Lauderdale police officer chases them with his gun drawn.
"(The robbers) just came in demanding, yelling, telling everybody to get down and just started smashing all the glass," Fort Lauderdale police Detective Tracy Figone said.
Meanwhile, the busy mall erupted in chaos.
"People were jumping into each other, screaming, yelling, 'Let me get out. Let me get out,'" Ramirez said.
Figone said the men got into a waiting vehicle and took off.
"They then bailed out of that vehicle around the 1300 block of North Federal Highway (and) jumped into another vehicle," Figone said.
That vehicle was a gray sport utility vehicle, which police pursued south along Interstate 95. Police were able to catch three of the suspects in the area of Northwest 20th Avenue and 71st Street in northwest Miami-Dade County. They also found the car and some of the stolen jewelry.
Investigators believe there are at least three thieves at large. The FBI, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Broward Sheriff's Office, Miami Dade Police Department and the South Florida Violent Crime Task Force were all involved in the investigation.
Williams and Mcgee's next hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning. Mayors Jewelers is expected to reopen Monday afternoon.
Similar robberies have been reported throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties in recent months, but investigators said they are not yet speculating about any possible link.
Miami-Dade County jewelry store robberies
The latest robbery happened about 4:35 p.m. May 7 at a store inside Flea Market USA at 3105 NW 79th St. Police said several men jumped over a counter, pushed employees to the ground and removed jewelry from display cases.
Police said witnesses saw them leave in a vehicle parked nearby, with a black male inside who was armed with a high-powered rifle.
The thieves made off with $250,000 worth of jewelry.
On March 26, a jewelry store at 1205 NE 163rd St. was robbed by four men about 5:45 p.m. Police said the men jumped over the counter, broke the display cases and made off with $250,000 worth of jewelry.
The first robbery was reported about 4:25 p.m. March 7 at the Village Flea Market at 7900 NW 27th Ave.
Police said four men approached a jewelry booth and tackled an employee to the ground, causing facial injuries. A fifth man acted as a lookout.
Police said the thieves fled the area with $90,000 to $100,000 worth of jewelry.
Police said the group used a black Nissan Maxima and a black Nissan SUV as their getaway cars.
Broward County jewelry store robberies
Robberies were also reported last month at the Immanuel Jewelry Store in Lauderhill and a Hallmark jewelry store at the Coral Ridge Mall.
Police said the robbery at Immanuel Jewelry Store happened about 4 p.m. May 23.
Police said a man used a hammer to smash the jewelry display boxes at the front of the door. Surveillance video shows several other men rush in and grab jewelry from the display box.
Police said one of the robbers used a plastic bin, similar to a common recycling container, to collect the jewelry.
All of the men wore masks and gloves. An employee was seen whacking the men away with what appeared to be a pole.
Police said the thieves made off with thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise. Six to seven people are believed to have been involved in the heist.
Just the day before, another robbery was reported at Nouri's Hallmark store about 2 p.m. at the Coral Ridge Mall.
Surveillance cameras were rolling as two men entered the store, one armed with a hammer, like in the other robberies.
One man went straight for the display cases and ran down the line smashing case after case, while the second man loaded up on gold chains and other jewelry.
Another man was seen on the mall security cameras keeping eye out for police while a driver pulled up to the front of the store and picked up all suspects. The car, believed to be a black Nissan Altima, fled the scene shortly afterward.
The crooks made off with up to $150,000 worth of merchandise.
Anyone with information on the identity of the robbers is asked to call the FBI at 754-703-2000.
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