Suspect Arrested In Moore Jewelry Store 2020 Armed Robbery

An arrest has been made more than a year after employees at a Moore jewelry store were tied up by an armed suspect who stole more than $500,000 in merchandise.

Gustavo Rodriguez Jr., 23, was arrested in the Houston, Texas area earlier this month.

The arrest comes nearly a year and a half following the crime, because Rodriguez Jr. fled to Mexico after the armed robbery, according to Moore police.

“Our detectives were able to put together a case and identify Mr. Rodriguez and obtain a warrant for his arrest, he was entered into the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) computer,” said Lt. Kyle Hill of the Moore Police Department.

On January 23, 2020, Moore police responded to the Diamond Dee-Lite jewelry store just after 6:15 p.m. when the store was closing for the day.

A suspect in a mask forced an employee to zip tie two of her co-workers before she was subdued herself. The gunman is seen on store surveillance video pointing a gun at one of the employee’s heads shortly after.

Read: Armed Man Ties Up Employees, Robs Moore Jewelry Store

According to the jewelry store owner in 2020, Teri O’Dell, it took the suspect 15 minutes to steal over $600,000 worth of merchandise.

Police said Rodriguez Jr. was the driver of a of the getaway car, a newer model, dark grey Dodge Charger.

Investigators were able to identify Rodriguez Jr. shortly after the crime. He was seen on store surveillance video the previous day recording cell phone video of different merchandise and other critical portions of the store.

According to court records, Rodriguez Jr.’s fingerprints were also found inside the store.

Following extensive local media coverage, Moore police said a citizen contacted the department who reported she saw a questionable grey Dodge Charger parked in the Diamond-Dee-Lite parking lot hours before the robbery and provided the tag number.

The registered owner turned out to be Enterprise Rental Cars who rented a Dodge Charger to Rodriguez Jr.

“It was those observations and those things that were brought to us by members of the community that provided value to the detectives,” said Hill.

The vehicle was found abandoned in a Norman parking lot.

“We know that Mr. Rodriguez did not act alone, and our detectives have put together a very good case,” said Hill. “It does remain an active investigation in terms of bringing everyone to justice who was involved in this incident.”

Rodriguez Jr. will be brought from the Houston area, back to Cleveland County. He’s charged with four counts of robbery with a weapon and three kidnapping charges.