ORLANDO, Fla.,None — Orange County detectives said they've arrested two suspects for a brazen Sunday morning holdup at a Florida Mall hotel.
Detectives said it was an elaborate robbery with disguises and high-priced jewelry, and that it was all an inside job.
Most guests at the Florida Hotel and Convention Center at the Florida Mall were fast asleep when a major jewelry heist was going on.
"Inside the rooms? Maybe on the streets I can believe that, but in the hotel rooms?" a hotel guest asked.
The victims were estate buyers with MJD, a group staying at the hotel to buy gold. Deputies said one of the suspects was a former employee.
The two men that deputies said zip-tied and beat up their victims are still in the jail for the extensive robbery they tried to pull off. Reports said the two suspects are responsible for trying to steal half a million in gold and jewelry.
Local jeweler Ryan Weaver said it can be a dangerous business at times.
"You have to be careful to keep your merchandise secure, try not to get into any set patterns where people can track you," Waver said.
That's exactly what deputies say Timothy Crawford and Ramon Rivera did.
Deputies said the men rented rooms at the hotel and donned realistic-looking masks that covered their faces and necks.
They broke inside the jewelers room and zip-tied two of the employees. One of the buyers was able to break free and call the desk to say she was being robbed at gunpoint.
While deputies set up in the lobby, one of the men tried to walk right out the front door, but his mask wasn't realistic-looking enough for the deputies. He was arrested, and the other man was arrested a short time later.
Rivera is a former employee of the business, let go from the company on Dec. 3 for suspicion of theft.
Weaver said he's surprised these type of heists don't happen more often with many buyers using hotels to operate out of.
"They see what they think might be an easy target and they just try to take advantage of that," Weaver said.
Rivera and Crawford were arrested and charged with seven felony counts of home invasion, false imprisonment, grand theft, aggravated battery and aggravated assault charges. They are being held with no bond.
WFTV
