A 59-year-old Westland man is facing federal charges in the April 15 armed robbery at a Warren Road jewelry store in the city.
According to reports from Westland police officials, John Talerico is facing federal Hobbs Act robbery and firearm charges following the incident during which store employees were reportedly pepper-sprayed and locked in a storeroom. The suspect was arrested after surveillance camera data tracked his vehicle to his Westland home, according to officials.
Talerico attempted to pawn a gold necklace taken during the robbery later the same day, according to reports. Surveillance footage shows the suspect, now believed to be Talerico, entering the jewelry store several times and returning at about 2 p.m. April 15 when the robbery occurred. The suspect brandished a black handgun and forced store employees to put 10 gold rings, three Cuban-link chains and about $200 in cash into his bag. The employees were then pepper-sprayed and locked in a back room, according to police reports.
About an hour after the jewelry store robbery, police say the suspect pawned a men’s yellow-gold rope necklace in Detroit, providing Talerico’s Michigan driver’s license as identification. According to court records, Talerico was previously convicted for 2011 multistate robberies. A criminal complaint has been filed with the U.S District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan by a special agent from the FBI Detroit Violent Crime Task Force. Federal authorities are pursuing robbery and possession of firearm charges against Talerico.
Details of the federal complaint allege that the suspect initially asked jewelry store employees questions about lab-created diamonds and indicated he was interested in purchasing two rings. He then briefly left the store, re-entered, and then pulled out a handgun, pointing it at one of the store employees. He ordered that employee to place 10 rings and three necklaces into a bag, threatening physical harm if an alarm was triggered.
The suspect then led two employees to a back room, where he took $200 from a cash register.
“The suspect then pepper-sprayed the victims, shut them in the back room and fled the location,” the FBI report said.
Westland police checked security video from nearby stores and noticed a black sedan in the parking lot of the store that morning. The robbery suspect was seen on security video walking into the Westland Mall entrance. Police tracked the license plate on the suspect vehicle to Talerico, who faces federal indictment on the charges.
