A suspect in the Aug. 3 robbery of Prestige Jewelers in the Manhattan Village Mall was arrested on Dec. 16.
Manhattan Beach police arrested Jameson Laforest, 23, at his Inglewood home. They found evidence of his crime, including a loaded firearm.
In August, two men wearing ski masks entered the jewelry store around 11:29 a.m. They smashed several display cases with hammers and stole the contents. The men fled with the jewelry to a waiting van driven by a third person. The van had been reported stolen from Inglewood the day before. The men abandoned the van at the Marriott Hotel on Parkview Avenue and then escaped in a gray minivan driven by a fourth person.
Another possible suspect in the crime, Jamaal Andrew McKinney, 21, was arrested by Westminster police on Nov. 12 for robbing another jewelry store, Tick Tock Fine Jewelry and Watches.
“McKinney was connected to the Manhattan Beach robbery by evidence and statements, and is a known associate of Laforest’s,” the police said in a press release.
Laforest posted a $140,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Southwest Superior Court in Torrance on Feb. 19. He’s charged with robbery, burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
