A California man was sentenced to more than five years in prison for stealing around $130,000 worth of diamonds, watches and designer handbags from high-end stores in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and elsewhere.
Dwight Phillip Bivens, 29, of Fresno, was sentenced in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ by U.S. Chief District Judge Raner C. Collins to 63 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, said a news release Friday from the U. S. Attorney's Office for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
Bivens had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery under the federal Hobbs Act, which prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce.
Federal prosecutors said Bivens was part of a team of four men that carried out a day-long crime spree in May 2016.
The spree began with the theft of a diamond ring and assault on a security guard at Tiffany & Co. jewelers at La Encantada shopping complex in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s Catalina Foothills.
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Later in the day, the four stole designer purses from a Nordstrom store in Scottsdale. After that, they hit a Helzberg Diamond Outlet store in Glendale, where they stole several high-end watches and sprayed employees with pepper spray.
Bivens was arrested after pawning the watches in Fresno, the news release said.
A co-defendant, Mitchell Ray Finley, has also pleaded guilty in the case and is due to be sentenced this summer.
