Stolen jewelry recovered, two additional suspects arrested in robbery in The Woodlands

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- The investigation into similarities between the Helzberg Diamond robbery at The Woodlands Mall and the recent robbery at Zales Jewlery in Portofino continues.

Here's the latest from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office:

On January 12, 2017, Montgomery County Communications 911 received several 911 calls from witnesses who observed 3 black males wearing masks enter the Zale’s Jewelry store located in the Portofino Shopping Center at 19705 I-45 in Shenandoah, Texas.

According to one of the 911 callers the three black males were wearing masks and carrying a sledgehammer as they ran into the Zale’s Jewelry Store. The witness advised it appeared the males were going to rob the store. The witness also advised that one of the black males remained in the vehicle which was a black Acura Passenger car that was later discovered to be stolen.

The suspect vehicle description was aired to responding law enforcement at which time a Shenandoah Police Officer observed the suspect vehicle south bound on IH 45. At that time a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy and a Shenandoah Police Department Officer were able to catch up to the suspect vehicle and attempted to stop the vehicle. The suspect vehicle failed to yield to law enforcement and a short pursuit was initiated. During the pursuit the suspect vehicle struck a citizen vehicle which caused an accident. The citizen received minor injuries and was treated on scene. The suspect vehicle attempted to enter Interstate Highway 45 main lanes via the grassy median of the frontage road, but struck a tree rendering the suspect vehicle inoperable.

Detectives recovered all the stolen jewelry, some of which was located in suspect’s pockets when they were taken into custody. Montgomery County Gang Investigators confirmed 3 of the 4 suspects are gang members. All four suspects are currently in the Montgomery County Jail on charges of Aggravated Robbery and Evading.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes is investigating the similarities between the Helzberg Diamond robbery and the Zale’s Robbery.