US robbers who touted crime on Instagram jailed

Bumbling robbers who left behind a cell phone during a $2.6 million heist and later boasted on Instagram about being part of a criminal gang have been jailed in California, authorities said Monday.

The three men used sledgehammers and crowbars to target an upscale jewelery store in Beverly Hills, making off with a huge haul of necklaces, bracelets and watches in the 2022 raid.

The daylight robbery -- which happened in full view of staff and customers -- began when Ladell Tharpe, 39, and his two accomplices careered up to the store in a convoy of vehicles, one of which had been stolen days earlier.

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The US Department of Justice said during the terrifying attack, a cell phone fell out of a sweatpants pocket worn by one of the robbers -- identified as 33-year-old Jimmy Lee Vernon -- handing investigators a ready clue.

But the probe was also given a boost by Tharpe's brazenness.

"Two days after the heist, Tharpe posted images of large amounts of cash on his Instagram with the text 'Robbery Gang,'" federal prosecutors said.

Vernon and Deshon Bell, 22, admitted one count of robbery in relation to the heist when they appeared in court in February last year.

Bell was jailed for a year, while Vernon was sent to prison for six years and eight months.

Tharpe was sentenced Monday to serve seven years in federal prison, after earlier admitting robbery.

"Brazen criminal action that directly targets our small businesses in Los Angeles County will not be tolerated," said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally.

"The consequences for such action are severe and penalized accordingly."