3 men charged with brandishing firearms to rob Chicago-area jewelry store

CHICAGO — Three men were indicted Friday by a federal grand jury on robbery and weapons offenses for allegedly stealing expensive watches and jewelry at gunpoint from a suburban Chicago store.

These charges were announced by U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr., Northern District of Illinois, and Special Agent in Charge James M. Gibbons, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago. Hinsdale (Illinois) Police Department and Oak Lawn (Illinois) Police Department provided valuable assistance.

Tobias Diggs, 24, of Chicago, Marvon Hamberlin, 39, of Chicago, and Joshua McClellan, 29, of Oak Lawn, Illinois, are charged with robbery and robbery conspiracy; transporting stolen goods; and using, carrying, and brandishing firearms during a crime of violence.

According to the indictment, the defendants are accused of brandishing firearms during a robbery at Razny Jewelers in Hinsdale, Illinois on March 17, 2017. They took more than $200,000 in merchandise, including watches by luxury brands Frederique Constant, Patek Phillipe, and Tudor. They allegedly sold or disposed of some of the stolen items in the Chicago area and in Atlanta.

According to the charges, the three defendants conducted surveillance of the store in advance of the robbery. They brought hoods, masks and other items to the store to conceal their identities. The trio used actual and threatened force against store employees to take the watches and jewelry, before escaping in a Lexus sport-utility vehicle.

McClellan was arrested Friday, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges at a Friday afternoon arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier.

Diggs is currently in state custody in DuPage County, Illinois. His arraignment on the federal charges has not yet been scheduled.

Hamberlin is not in custody, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The charge of using and brandishing a firearm carries a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. The conspiracy and robbery counts each carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison.

Transporting stolen goods is punishable by up to 10 years.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Albert Berry III and Lindsay Jenkins, Northern District of Illinois.