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.
Officers said they identified Hernandez after a “very thorough investigation.”
On Thursday, less than a week after the latest robbery, police located him and took him into custody.
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.
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.
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 recently completed boot camp with the Marines about a week before our incident,” Officer Mark Herman told the station.
The US Marine Corps (USMC) told Fox News Digital in a statement that it is aware of the allegations against Hernandez and is in contact with local authorities.
The U.S. Marine Corps said Hernandez, a Reserve Marine 1st Class with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment in Houston, was not in “training status” at the time of the crime.
“The Marine Corps does not condone the kind of conduct alleged in this incident,” the U.S. Marine Corps said in a statement.
Herman said Hernandez appears to still be living with his parents in the Cypress area, near where the robbery occurred.
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.
