PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Robert Johnson, the 39-year-old son of a housekeeper, has been arrested for stealing jewelry worth more than $26,000 from his mother’s employer.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), Johnson was accused of taking valuable jewelry from a woman’s home while she was away. The victim left her residence under the care of her housekeeper and Johnson, who was helping with cleaning tasks.
The following day, the homeowner discovered several items missing, including a gold Rolex watch, a diamond horseshoe pendant, a yellow gold necklace with multicolored stones, a ruby, diamond, and sapphire pendant, a diamond heart pendant, a white gold necklace with a diamond center, and a white gold Rolex watch. The stolen items were valued at approximately $34,000.
PBSO’s investigation revealed that Johnson had pawned multiple pieces of jewelry matching the descriptions provided by the victim. Authorities tracked the pawn transactions to Queen of Pawns in Lake Worth and La Familia Pawn in West Palm Beach. Johnson received $5,150 for pawning the stolen items, though the total value of the jewelry was estimated at $26,600.
The victim was able to recover her stolen jewelry by purchasing it back from the pawn shops for about $950. The evidence against Johnson included pawn transaction records, surveillance footage, positive identification by pawn shop employees, and his thumbprint found on pawn transaction forms.
Johnson has been arrested and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of six counts of dealing in stolen property, four counts of false verification of ownership over $300, two counts of false verification of ownership under $300, and one count of grand theft exceeding $20,000.
