Not-so-fantastic 4 of Florida men wore makeup, wigs for jewelry store robberies

MIAMI — Four felons from Broward County have been convicted in federal court of jewelry store robberies from South Florida to Georgia that sound like scenes out of a Tyler Perry movie.

Christopher Brinson, Adrian Hardy, Emmory Moore and Jerome Simmons chose attire for each robbery’s gunmen that was less “Going in Style” than “Madea Goes to Jail.” They didn’t wear dresses, but did don wigs, slapped on makeup and wore women’s clothes, such as pink jumpsuits.

Alas, the four veterans of the Florida Department of Corrections proved no more skilled than they were stylish.

When they left one robbery, Moore left behind his cellphone, which was not only connected to a phone number on his account, but had the jewelry store’s name and number listed among the contacts. Brinson’s phone contained a photo of three of them next to a silver minivan rented and used in one of the robberies — a silver minivan with a SunPass that made the vehicle easily trackable.

While skedaddling from the last heist, they dropped a bag with over $1 million of jewelry.

The Justice Department used the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which led to an armed robber getting 92 years and a man getting 32 years for over 20 armed robberies, to make federal cases out of the interstate run of robberies.

According to the criminal complaints, on March 3, 2017, Brinson walked into Class Jewelers located at 3756 W. Hillsboro Blvd. in Deerfield Beach and asked about selling a ring. Not long after Brinson’s visit, at around 2 p.m., surveillance cameras spotted two men dressed as women with long, dark wigs come in and rob the store at gunpoint. Employees didn’t identify the robbers dressed as women, but did easily identify advance scout Brinson.

The same thing happened March 16, 2017, at Lilli’s Jewelry Store in Spring Hill, an area north of Tampa. But as the two men-dressed-as-women left with $10,000 of jewelry and hopped in a silver minivan, Moore left behind his cell phone.

That whoopsy allowed cops to see text messages to and from Moore discussing “licks,” current slang for money quickly acquired by robbery; an internet history that included searches for Lilli’s and “jewelry store robbery in Hillsboro” (criminals tend to like to see what the media has to say about their crimes).

On April 1, two men and a woman, “all three … wearing long, dark-colored wigs, long-sleeved dark-colored shirts and long, dark-colored pants” and “light makeup” hit Bishops Jewelers in Valdosta, Georgia. Before the robbery, a man called the store to ask if the male employee was there yet. He was told the male employee would be there in an hour. A similar call preceded the robbery at Lilli’s.

Moore was arrested on April 6, 2017, for being a felon in possession of a firearm while, an arrest report says, he drove around in an unregistered car with illegally dark tints on the windows while smoking marijuana.

Hardy, Simmons and Brinson showed up at LSO Jewelry and Repair in Port St. Lucie at 9:05 a.m. April 13, 2017, “wearing heavy facial makeup and women’s clothing.”

Hardy: “dark-colored pants, a dark, long-sleeved top with a bright multi-colored shirt underneath, sunglasses, and long, dark-haired wig.

Simmons: “a women’s pink jumpsuit with a dark-colored wig.”

Brinson: “green pants, a light blue, long-sleeved top and a dark-colored wig.”

Perhaps the most eye-catching part of their ensembles, at least to the LSO employees: “Each also wore black gloves and brandished a firearm.”

When an LSO employee identified as “L.O.” asked Simmons if she could help him, Simmons said in a masculine voice, “I’m looking for an engagement ring.”

Hardy and Brinson locked the front door, then Hardy and Simmons marched L.O. and co-worker “N.N.” to the backroom at gunpoint. While they lay on their stomachs with faces down, the three criminals took what they wanted from the safe and display cases. An outside man told them through a walkie-talkie they were “good on time.”

Simmons relieved L.O. of a silver diamond and ruby Rolex. Then, suddenly, the inside trio wasn’t good on time. An off-duty cop saw the three enter the store and seemingly lock the door behind them. That was enough to prompt a 911 call.

A front door departure was aborted upon sight of approaching police, so the threesome ran out the back, “dropping a large bag containing nearly a million dollars’ worth of jewelry. The only item of jewelry removed from the store was the Rolex watch.”

Simmons was arrested after crawling out of some bushes, wearing only “boxers, socks, makeup on his face, and carrying a walkie-talkie in his hand.”

Hardy ran toward Martin Health System Diagnostic Services emergency room and hopped into a nearby box truck. The truck’s owner approached Hardy to find out why a badly made up guy was treating his truck like a cab.

“The owner of the truck told law enforcement that Hardy immediately exited the truck and left behind a wig, gloves, and sunglasses,” the complaint said.

Police hadn’t found Hardy when a call came in around 12:06 p.m. from a man worried that his pal, J.K., hadn’t been home at the pickup time for their golf game. And, the friend said, J.K. didn’t miss pickup time for a golf game.

Law enforcement found nobody inside at J.K.’s home. A trip through the house found drops of blood on the floor, an unopened gallon of milk on the counter, cell phones and two women’s purses.

Cops were still there when J.K. returned with another chapter to the story.

J.K., from Toronto, Canada, said Hardy, still on the run from police, had two guns and forced J.K., J.K.’s wife, their son and their son’s girlfriend to drive him to Broward County. Hardy had them exit at Sunrise Boulevard and drop him off at Tony’s Market, 800 NW 22nd Rd.

Brinson eventually was arrested April 20 on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hardy was taken into custody May 8, 2017 after a traffic stop in Orlando.

Each of the four went down on charges of Hobbs Act robbery (affecting interstate or foreign business), conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. Hardy got an extra four counts of kidnapping.

They’re scheduled to be sentenced June 7.