Two Essex County men have been sentenced to a combined total of 25 years in state prison for the 2014 daytime armed robbery of an Elizabeth jewelry store, acting Union County Prosecutor Ann M. Luvera announced Monday.
According to authorities, Newark residents Tyrone Shoulars, 23, and James Richardson, 28, were sentenced to 12 and 13 years, respectively, by state Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch. Judge Kirsch also ruled Friday that 85 percent of both terms are to be served before the possibility of parole under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act.
Elizabeth Police Department patrol units on November 24, 2014, responded to Salermo Jewelers on Elizabeth Avenue near U.S. Routes 1&9 to find that the store had been held up at gunpoint, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Lyndsay Ruotolo, who prosecuted the case.
The duo after threatening the store staff and smashing display cases, discharged their firearm as they left the area with approximately $50,000 worth of stolen diamonds, Ruotolo said.
Police said no one was struck by the gunfire.
The Elizabeth Police Department’s investigation quickly resulted in the pair being identified as suspects in the case, and following a fast-moving manhunt through neighboring residential areas in Elizabeth, Shoulars and Richardson were arrested that same day, and the stolen jewelry was recovered and returned.
In October 2017, Shoulars and Richardson each pleaded guilty to first-degree armed robbery and a related weapons offense.