Second suspect in ‘cross-dressing’ jewelry robbery arrested in Orlando

After nearly a month on the lam, a second Fort Lauderdale man who is accused of donning heavy makeup and women’s clothing to rob a jewelry store has been arrested, court records show.

Adrian Hardy, 33, was arrested after he walked out of a Golden Corral restaurant in Orlando at lunchtime on Monday, investigators said.

Broward sheriff’s detectives received information that Hardy was hiding out in Orlando and they passed those details on to the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force in Central Florida, said Barry Golden, a spokesman for the agency.

The marshals arrested Hardy as he got into a car in the parking lot of the restaurant in the 5500 block of Kirkman Road, investigators said. Hardy had a loaded gun with him and was traveling with a woman, who was driving the car, they said.

Federal prosecutors said three men, who were armed with guns and wore bright red lipstick, thick makeup and women’s clothes, walked into a Port St. Lucie jewelry store on April 13 and said they were shopping for an engagement ring.

Workers immediately realized they were being robbed, partly because the men’s disguises were not very convincing, according to court records. A fourth man, who waited outside, acted as a lookout and was supposed to be the getaway driver, authorities said.

The gang terrorized two women employees and scooped up about $1 million worth of jewelry, investigators said. But they panicked and left behind all of the loot, with the exception of one Rolex watch, when police showed up outside the store within about 10 minutes.

So far, investigators have only publicly identified two of the suspects.

Hardy fled to a nearby house where he kidnapped four adults at gunpoint and forced them to drive him south to Fort Lauderdale, investigators said. He released them, uninjured, when they dropped him off, according to court records.

Investigators said they found his fingerprints in the Port St. Lucie house and on a water bottle he dropped in the Fort Lauderdale parking lot but he managed to elude them until Monday.

Hardywas jailed in Seminole County and was soon to be transferred to South Florida to face federal robbery, weapons, carjacking and kidnapping charges.

Jerome Simmons, 29, also of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested as he crawled out of a nearby bush, moments after the robbery. He was only wearing his underwear, socks and makeup, when he was arrested, authorities said. He also had a walkie talkie and had abandoned a wig and women’s clothing nearby, they said.

Simmons was jailed in Broward County and pleaded not guilty to federal robbery and weapon charges earlier this week.

If convicted of the most serious charges, both men could face life in federal prison.

JIM RASSOL/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Jennett Melendez and daughter Kayla Bernard attend Boynton Beach’s Mother’s Day Tea Party on Saturday. The event, held at the Intracoastal Park Clubhouse in Boynton Beach, served brunch, tea and dessert.