U. S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming | U.S. Department of Justice
Two Michigan men have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in a smash-and-grab theft at a jewelry store in Ellisville, Missouri. The incident resulted in the theft of Rolex watches valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Kordaryl Cross, 35, to 57 months in prison. In October, Judge Autrey sentenced Dajuan Marcellus, 34, to 37 months in prison. Both men were ordered to pay $344,300 to the jeweler.
The crime occurred on January 10, 2023. Cross purchased sledgehammers from a Missouri retailer. He and Marcellus, along with at least two others, stole a Dodge Ram truck from Brentwood and drove it to Ellisville the following day. Marcellus and another accomplice used sledgehammers to break glass cases containing the watches while Cross kept track of time. They later abandoned the stolen vehicle in a parking garage and transported the stolen watches to Illinois.
Both Cross and Marcellus pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property.
At the time of this offense, both individuals were on supervised release for separate robbery cases in the Eastern District of Michigan and had been sentenced in 2023 to 18 months imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Ellisville Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll.