DENVER — A fifth suspect has been indicted and arrested in a robbery of a Colorado family jewelry store that happened in June, 9NEWS Investigates has learned.
Derek Dun-Vargas, 22, was indicted in federal court Tuesday related to the armed robbery of Joyeria El Ruby on June 24.
Dun Vargas is charged with:
- Armed robbery
- Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence
In August, Oswaldo Lozada-Solis, 23, Jesus Daniel Lara Del Toro, 20, Jean Franco Torres-Roman, 21, and Edwuimar Nazareth Colina-Romero, 18, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to the same armed robbery of Joyeria El Ruby's Denver location.
Lozada-Solis, Del Toro and Torres-Roman are charged with:
- Armed robbery
- Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence
Colina-Romero is charged with:
- Transporting stolen goods
- Possession of stolen goods
According to the original indictment, on the afternoon of June 24, the suspects entered the jewelry store near West 38th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Denver.
During the robbery, the suspects pointed guns at employees, hit multiple employees with their weapons and took large amounts of gold and jewelry. Later, the suspects were found near El Paso, Texas.
Back in June, the owner of Joyeria El Ruby, Lidia Tena, told 9NEWS more than $2.5 million worth of jewelry was stolen. Tena has owned the jewelry store for 25 years, and said this is the main source of income for her and her children.
In November, the family jewelry store was the target of another robbery at their Thornton location.
Security camera footage shows masked burglars using crowbars to break in through the front doors of Joyeria El Ruby and loading up on jewelry just before 5 a.m. on Nov. 22. It is unknown how many valuables the thieves took from this robbery.
According to Thornton Police, detectives are working to identify the thieves. The surveillance video captured three of them rifling through drawers, putting jewelry in their pockets and into bins, and running out of the shop within four minutes.
Police believe at least one additional person remained outside with the vehicles as both vehicles were reported stolen before the burglary.
Anyone with information about the November burglary is asked to call Thornton Police's hotline at 720-977-5069.
This article includes reporting from Jeremy Jojola and Antonia Velez.