A U.S. Marine was arrested Thursday in Texas after authorities said he stole hundreds of pieces of jewelry worth more than $500,000 in two separate robberies.
Marcelo Majeed Hernandez, 18, has been identified as a suspect in two robberies that occurred at David Yuman Jewelry in Houston on October 13, 2023 and at Helzberg Diamonds on April 5, 2023. This was announced by the Harris County 4th Constable Precinct.
In the first robbery, officers discovered a masked suspect broke down the front door with a sledgehammer, destroyed display cases and stole more than 200 pieces of jewelry worth more than $380,000.
In the second robbery, $170,000 worth of jewelry was stolen.
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Marcelo Majeed Hernandez was arrested Thursday in connection with two jewelry robberies in the Houston area. (Harris County Constable Branch 4)
The officer said Hernandez was identified after a “very thorough investigation.” On Thursday, less than a week after the latest robbery, police located him and took him into custody.
Marcelo Majeed Hernandez, 18, was charged with two counts of first-degree felony theft. (Harris County Constable Branch 4)
During his arrest, officers found three handguns, $11,000 in cash and $500,000 worth of jewelry, including diamonds, in his car, a Mercedes-Benz GLA. FOX26 Houston report.
Authorities said they found stolen jewelry, cash and three handguns in Hernandez’s Mercedes-Benz GLA. (Harris County Constable Branch 4)
Officer Mark Herman told the department the car’s license plate had been stolen and was seen on surveillance video during the robbery. Detectives tracked the vehicle and identified Hernandez.
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Most of the stolen jewelry has been recovered and officers are working to find the last few pieces, the constable said.
Herman told FOX26 Houston that when investigators took Hernandez into custody, his dog tags fell off and he told deputies he was in the U.S. military.
“In fact, he had just finished boot camp with the Marines about a week before our incident,” Officer Mark Herman told the station.
Hernandez was identified as a masked suspect who broke into two jewelry stores and stole more than 500,000 pieces of jewelry. (Harris County Constable Branch 4)
Herman said Hernandez appears to still be living with his parents in the Cypress area, near where the robbery occurred.
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Hernandez was charged with two counts of first-degree felony theft. He is being held on bail set at $500,000, according to online records.
