Not quite two years after four Broward County men went on a crime spree, robbing a St. Lucie West jewelry store among others, all four suspects have been convicted by a federal jury.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced last week that the men had been convicted following a four-week trial.
The defendants are expected to be sentenced June 7. Each faces up to 20 years in prison for robbery and robbery conspiracy, as well as a consecutive mandatory minimum term of seven years to life in prison for each conviction for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
One man, Adrian Hardy, faces up to 15 years in prison for each of the kidnapping charges on which he was convicted. Following the St. Lucie West jewelry heist, Hardy kidnapped an elderly couple, their son and the son’s girlfriend, forcing them to drive him to Fort Lauderdale.
The spree began in early March 2017 in Deerfield Beach at Class Jewelers. Later that month, the men hit Lily’s Jewelry in Spring Hill, and then Bishop’s Jewelers in Valdosta, Ga. The last robbery was LSO Jewelers in St. Lucie West in mid-April 2017. In each case, some or all the men dressed in wigs, heavy makeup and women’s clothing and entered the stores, holding the staff/owners at gunpoint while stealing merchandise.
Three of the four defendants were involved in the St. Lucie West robbery. One defendant, Emmory Moore, had been arrested about a week prior during a traffic stop in Fort Lauderdale that netted the recovery of a stolen firearm acquired during one of the previous jewelry store heists.
Two men entered LSO Jewelers while the third waited in the getaway car, according to authorities. An off-duty deputy saw what was happening and called it in. His interference caused the robbers to drop much of the jewelry that would have otherwise been stolen. The getaway driver, later identified as Christopher Brinson, fled the scene in a white Jeep and was ultimately arrested as a nearby restaurant. Hardy fled on foot to the Kings Isle gated community, where he kidnapped two Toronto, Ontario, retirees and their grown son and his girlfriend at gunpoint. They were forced to drive him to Fort Lauderdale.
The last defendant, Jerome Simmons, was arrested shortly after the robbery, found hiding in the shrubs of a nearby hospital. He was wearing only his underwear and one sock.
All but Moore hail from Fort Lauderdale. Moore is a resident of Coral Springs.
convictIONS at a glance
(Hobbs Act robbery refers to obstructing commerce by means of robbery or extortion or attempting or conspiring to do so.)
Adrian Hardy, 34, Fort Lauderdale: 1 count Hobbs Act robbery, 2 counts Brandishing firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, 1 count Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, and 4 counts Kidnapping.
Jerome Simmons, 31, Fort Lauderdale: 2 counts Hobbs Act robbery, 2 counts Brandishing firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, 1 count Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery.
Christopher Brinson, 33, Fort Lauderdale: 2 counts Hobbs Act robbery, 1 count Brandishing firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and 1 count Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery.
Emmory Moore, 34, Coral Springs: 1 count Hobbs Act robbery, 1 count Brandishing firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and 1 count Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery.
