3 sought in cross-dresser jewel heist
Call them the gang that couldn’t put on lipstick straight.
When three men, wearing bright red lipstick, heavy makeup and women’s clothing, walked into a jewelry store and said they were shopping for an engagement ring this month, workers quickly realized they were dealing with an unusual band of gun-toting robbers.
So far, authorities said they have identified two of the wanted men. Jerome Simmons, 29, of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested as he crawled out of a nearby bush sporting only his boxer shorts, socks, makeup and carrying a walkietalkie in his hand. A pink sweatshirt, pink sweat pants, a wig and a pair of shoes were found under a nearby vehicle, police said.
Simmons was in federal court in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday and a judge ordered he will remain jailed pending trial.
Investigators are still looking for Adrian Hardy of Broward County, who they say got away from the April 13 jewelry store holdup in Port St. Lucie by kidnapping a family of four and forcing them to drive him home to Broward County. Authorities declined to dis----
close Hardy’s age.
Investigators have not yet publicly identified the third robbery suspect and a fourth man they say was supposed to be the lookout and getaway driver.
The three stylish robbers spent about 10 minutes in the store and had gathered nearly $1 million worth of jewelry in a bag when their accomplice outside radioed them that police had arrived. Much of the robbery was recorded by the store’s security cameras.
In their haste to escape, Hardy and Simmons dropped the million-dollar booty bag, investigators said. The only item of jewelry removed from the store was a Rolex watch.
Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the armed robbery began a few minutes after 9 a.m. on April 13 at LSO Jewelers and Repair on St. Lucie West Boulevard.
Store workers had opened the safe and were loading jewelry display cases when three “customers” walked in.
One of the store workers told investigators she “immediately noticed that the robbers were black males, each wearing heavy makeup and red lipstick.”
The first man wore green pants, a light blue top, and a dark wig. The second man, who agents said was Hardy, wore dark pants, a dark top over a bright multi-colored shirt underneath, sunglasses and a long wig. The third man, later identified as Simmons, wore a women’s pink sweat suit jumpsuit with a dark wig.
Another store worker asked Simmons if she could help him.
“l’m looking for an engagement ring,” Simmons replied, in what sounded like a man’s voice, the woman told police.
The two other men then locked the front door of the store, and all three brandished guns, according to court records.
The robbers pointed guns at the two women and forced them to lie on the ground, face down.
During their ordeal, the women heard the three robbers using walkie-talkies to communicate with the fourthman outside. At first, he said they “were good on time” but after about 10 minutes, he told them the police had arrived.
Hardy and Simmons ran to the front door but saw police outside and ran to the back door, dropping the bag filled with jewelry.
Authorities said that an off-duty police officer called 911 after he spotted the men – who stood out because of their thick makeup and womanly attire – going into the store and locking the door behind them.
When police showed up, they chased the robbers and arrested the semi-naked Simmons “crawling out of bushy area on his hands and knees.”
Simmons is facing charges of robbery and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.
Simmons, handcuffed, shackled and wearing a much less fetching outfit – dark blue jail scrubs – looked relaxed, smiled and tried to chat with several family and friends during courtroom appearances on Wednesday and Thursday.
“No, sir, Your Honor,” Simmons said Thursday when the judge asked him if he had any questions.
Simmons has not yet indicated if he will fight the charges. His attorney Robert Meadows declined to comment about the case.
Hardy ran to a nearby hospital and was recorded on security video trying to steal a truck, but he ran away when the truck driver confronted him, police said.
Later that day, shortly after noon, police received a missing person report about a local man. The man’s friend said itwas out of character for the man to skip their scheduled golf game. Federal authorities only identified the man by his initials.
When police went to the man’s home, they found drops of blood on the floor, two women’s purses, cell phone and an unopened gallon of milk on the kitchen counter.
While officers were still investigating, the man returned home in his Chevy Traverse and told them that an armed man – still wearing makeup and women’s clothing – had forced his way into their home. The victim, his wife, his son and the son’s girlfriend were “kidnapped and forced to drive” the man, who police said was Hardy, south on Interstate 95 to the Sunrise Boulevard exit in Fort Lauderdale.
Hardy seemed nervous and told the family that something had gone wrong and his two friends had been arrested, authorities said.
During the drive, Hardy drank from a water bottle and then urinated in the bottle, they said. He made them drop him off in the parking lot behind a store in the 800 block of Northwest 22nd Road, where he emptied the bottle of urine and dropped it on the ground.
Investigators said they found Hardy’s fingerprint on a blind in the family’s kitchen in Port St. Lucie and also found his fingerprints on the water bottle that was dumped in Fort Lauderdale.
A warrant has been issued for Hardy’s arrest, authorities said. They declined to release any information about the other two suspects.