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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The mastermind of an interstate diamond-theft ring has been sentenced to 9½ years in federal prison.
Michael Young, 40, was the last of 11 defendants sentenced in the brazen scheme that included thefts from more than 20 jewelry stores, stretching from the Pacific Northwest to Tennessee and Florida. The crew targeted small businesses, and prosecutors said many of the stolen items were not insured or only partially insured.
U.S. District Court Judge Marco Hernandez described Young as a crafty, highly intelligent man who moved his less-savvy co-defendants around like chess pieces.
“Without him moving these chess pieces, none of this happens,” Hernandez said Wednesday.
The thefts began in 2009 and ended two years later, with losses to the jewelry stores totaling $3.4 million.
The thieves typically operated by having one person ask a store employee to show high-value diamonds. Another conspirator would take the diamonds and sprint to a waiting getaway car.
In a Sarasota, Florida, theft, the culprit used a pet Chihuahua named “Roxy,” to distract the store employees. In another Florida theft, the thieves fled on jets skis from a jewelry store on Sanibel Island.
Young, who has a daughter, apologized to his relatives and the victims, saying he wants to heal the wounds he caused. Judge Hernandez noted Young’s long criminal history and asked what’s different this time around. Young, who has been behind bars since his 2011 arrest, said this is the first time he’s looked at himself in the mirror and decided he needs to be less selfish.
“This truly has been an extreme wake-up,” he said. “I wish I had this wake-up when I was 20.”
Because many of the victims live out-of-state, only two of the stores were represented in court.
The owners of Saxon’s Fine Jewelers in Bend, Oregon, told Hernandez the theft delayed their retirement, caused their insurance rates to skyrocket and might have led some customers and suppliers to believe they are careless.
Annette Henderson said she and her husband started the business from nothing when they were in their early 20s.
“To think we could work so hard and then somebody lazy, callous and non-caring could take it from us,” she said.
Henderson’s daughter, Natasha, was the salesperson when two rings valued at more than $150,000 were stolen from the store. She cried while describing how the thieves stole her trust in people, “and that has been one of the hardest things to get back emotionally.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Holman Kerin sought a 10-year sentence, saying Young exercised tight supervision from the behind the scenes over all aspects of planning and got a disproportionate amount of the proceeds, spending it on cars, motorcycles and designer clothes.
Young’s lawyer, Ellen Pitcher, asked the judge to sentence her client to eight years and four months. She said Young “is not all bad” and has had a remarkable transformation since the arrest.
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Follow Steven DuBois at http://twitter.com/pdxdub.
Michael Young, 40, was the last of 11 defendants sentenced in the brazen scheme that included thefts from more than 20 jewelry stores, stretching from the Pacific Northwest to Tennessee and Florida. The crew targeted small businesses, and prosecutors said many of the stolen items were not insured or only partially insured.
U.S. District Court Judge Marco Hernandez described Young as a crafty, highly intelligent man who moved his less-savvy co-defendants around like chess pieces.
“Without him moving these chess pieces, none of this happens,” Hernandez said Wednesday.
The thefts began in 2009 and ended two years later, with losses to the jewelry stores totaling $3.4 million.
The thieves typically operated by having one person ask a store employee to show high-value diamonds. Another conspirator would take the diamonds and sprint to a waiting getaway car.
In a Sarasota, Florida, theft, the culprit used a pet Chihuahua named “Roxy,” to distract the store employees. In another Florida theft, the thieves fled on jets skis from a jewelry store on Sanibel Island.
Young, who has a daughter, apologized to his relatives and the victims, saying he wants to heal the wounds he caused. Judge Hernandez noted Young’s long criminal history and asked what’s different this time around. Young, who has been behind bars since his 2011 arrest, said this is the first time he’s looked at himself in the mirror and decided he needs to be less selfish.
“This truly has been an extreme wake-up,” he said. “I wish I had this wake-up when I was 20.”
Because many of the victims live out-of-state, only two of the stores were represented in court.
The owners of Saxon’s Fine Jewelers in Bend, Oregon, told Hernandez the theft delayed their retirement, caused their insurance rates to skyrocket and might have led some customers and suppliers to believe they are careless.
Annette Henderson said she and her husband started the business from nothing when they were in their early 20s.
“To think we could work so hard and then somebody lazy, callous and non-caring could take it from us,” she said.
Henderson’s daughter, Natasha, was the salesperson when two rings valued at more than $150,000 were stolen from the store. She cried while describing how the thieves stole her trust in people, “and that has been one of the hardest things to get back emotionally.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Holman Kerin sought a 10-year sentence, saying Young exercised tight supervision from the behind the scenes over all aspects of planning and got a disproportionate amount of the proceeds, spending it on cars, motorcycles and designer clothes.
Young’s lawyer, Ellen Pitcher, asked the judge to sentence her client to eight years and four months. She said Young “is not all bad” and has had a remarkable transformation since the arrest.
___
Follow Steven DuBois at http://twitter.com/pdxdub.
