Alleged Getaway Driver Charged in Florida Jewelry Store Robbery

Fort Myers, Fla.—An alleged getaway driver has been arrested and charged in connection with a Florida jewelry store robbery.

Ivel Sanchez Rivera, 52, of Hialeah, Florida, has been charged with conspiracy and interference with commerce by robbery as well as use and brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence, according to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.

According to the criminal complaint, two armed men entered Tio Jewelers in Cape Coral, Florida, from an adjacent vacant business when the jewelry store was closed.

Video surveillance footage reviewed by police showed the two men entering the empty store around midnight on Jan. 6 by prying the door open.

An investigation found that a large hole had been cut into the wall of the bathroom adjacent to the jewelry store’s bathroom, which is how authorities believe the men got into the jewelry store.

The footage shows them entering and exiting the vacant space over the course of several hours, not exiting until around 10 a.m., after the robbery, said the complaint.

The jewelry store manager told police that when he went into the store that morning, he was confronted by two armed, masked men who ordered him to get down on the ground. 

The manager said he was restrained with zip ties around his wrists and ankles, and was pistol-whipped by one of the assailants.

The manager was wearing a satchel that contained a firearm, which he said was removed and stolen by the men. An additional firearm was also stolen from the store.

His restraints were removed so that he could open the safe, and then he was restrained again, according to the criminal complaint.

He reported that more than $500,000 worth of jewelry was taken from the safe. His personal Breitling watch, valued at $5,500, also was stolen. 

The thieves also took a precious metal analyzer.

The robbers then made a phone call, asking someone to bring the car around, and exited through the store bathroom, said the manager.

They left in a black Infiniti that, authorities allege, Sanchez Rivera was driving. 

According to the Cape Coral Police Department, he allegedly drove the car to the area of the jewelry store the night before, then returned to Miami after the robbery.

Officials executed a search warrant for Sanchez Rivera’s residence and discovered two firearms, including the one allegedly taken from the jewelry store manager during the robbery.  

If convicted, Sanchez Rivera will face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the conspiracy offense and a consecutive seven years in federal prison for the firearm offense.

The Cape Coral Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesus M. Casas will prosecute it.