Four cross-dressing bandits convicted for jewelry store heists

Four Broward County men who pulled off jewelry store heists while poorly disguised as women have been convicted by a federal jury after a monthlong trial.

The three Fort Lauderdale men and one Coral Springs man face possible life sentences for their convictions on four armed robberies committed during a six-week span in the spring of 2017 and covering nearly 900 miles from South Florida to Georgia and back again.

Sentencing is set for June 7 in West Palm Beach before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra.

The men’s disguises, consisting of bright red lipstick, long dark wigs, thick face makeup and women’s attire, weren’t very convincing though, store clerks told investigators.

Clerks said they immediately knew the “cross-dressing” customers were robbers, court records show.

A jury on Friday returned guilty verdicts against Christopher Brinson, 33, Adrian Hardy, 34, and Jerome Simmons, 31, all of Fort Lauderdale, as well as Emmory Moore, 34, of Coral Springs.

The first hit happened March 3, 2017 at Class Jewelers on Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach.

Brinson went in and inquired about selling a ring about 10 minutes before two armed robbers wearing wigs stormed the store, federal prosecutors said.

The next robbery occurred March 6, 2017 at Lily’s Jewelry in Spring Hill, northwest of Tampa in Hernando County.

Moore dropped his cellphone during this stickup, leaving behind a clue that would help prosecutors seal the case, records show.

They committed their next heist in south central Georgia on April 1, 2017. There, the men held the owners of Bishops’ Jewelers in Valdosta at gunpoint while they stole cash, jewelry and a gun from the store’s safe.

Next came the holdup that garnered the most headlines.

On April 6, 2017, the disguised robbers were interrupted by police while scooping up an estimated $1 million worth of loot from LSO Jewelry and Repair in Port St. Lucie.

The escape car sped away and the robbers in the store dropped everything but a Rolex watch and took off running, federal prosecutors said.

Brinson, the getaway driver, was found at a nearby restaurant.

When police caught up with Simmons in a hospital parking lot close by, he had a walkie-talkie and was hiding under a bush. When he crawled out, all he wore was makeup, underwear and a sock. A discarded wig was found not far away.

Hardy escaped into a retirement community where he held four snowbirds visiting from Toronto as hostages. At gunpoint, he forced them to drive him to Fort Lauderdale, court documents show.

Hardy was eventually arrested at a Golden Corral restaurant in Orlando. He also was convicted on four counts of kidnapping. Each count carries a maximum of 15 years in prison.

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