After four months on the run, the “motorcycle bandit” accused of stealing a woman’s 5-carat diamond engagement ring has been arrested, Atlanta police said Monday. Now investigators are trying to determine if the same man is responsible for similar crimes.
Jermaine Hewitt, 35, was arrested Friday at a DeKalb County home and charged with strong arm robbery, according to Atlanta police Sgt. John Chafee. An arrest warrant was issued for Hewitt in October, but he eluded capture until last week, Chafee said.
On Oct. 18, a woman on her way to a hair salon noticed a man on a motorcycle following her, she told police. When she arrived at the Piedmont Road salon, the man approached her and demanded her ring, the police report states.
"Give me the ring, you (expletive) old white (expletive)!" the man allegedly told the woman.
The suspect was able to grab the woman’s wrist and force the ring off her finger. The woman told police her ring was a white gold band with four prongs holding a 5-carat diamond with .75-carat diamonds on each side. The ring was appraised for $100,000, she told police.
The woman and a witness were able to describe the suspect — identified as Hewitt by police — as well as the blue motorcycle he was operating. On Friday, police located a motorcycle matching that description at Hewitt’s home, Chafee said.
Investigators have not determined if Hewitt is a suspect in similar crimes in neighboring jurisdictions.
Earlier in October, a man told Dunwoody police he was robbed after a man on a blue motorcycle struck his car, AJC.com previously reported.
"He said, 'Give me your watch or I'll kill you,'" the man later told Channel 2 Action News.
In September, a man on a motorcycle allegedly pointed a gun at a man in Brookhaven and demanded his Rolex watch. But the would-be victim also produced a gun and the motorcyclist left without further incident.
And last February, a woman told police a man on a motorcycle pulled up beside her in Buckhead and snatched her designer watch.
So far, Hewitt has only been charged in connection to the engagement ring theft, Chafee said.
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