So how do you get your start in a "nationwide diamond theft ring?"

Hey, we’ve all watched the movies where a group of wildly differing personalities work together to pull off an international diamond heist. These guys hadn’t yet made it to Hollywood yet, but they sound close.

Authorities said suspects in the ring approached jewelry stores across the country to scope them out, often posing as couples shopping for a wedding ring. That initial visit allowed them to identify a specific employee to target on the day of the planned heist. They also would sometimes ask the store to order larger, more expensive diamonds, according to authorities. Then the suspects would return and take off with valuable diamonds.

Afterward, the diamonds were sold to a jeweler in Philadelphia and the proceeds were distributed among the participants, according to court documents.

Two of the thieves were North Carolinians. So, how did they get their start?

Suspect 1

Suspect 2

Look at the first crimes each were convicted of. Drugs.

It’s not hard to understand. People start taking drugs. Then they run out of money to buy drugs, so they start stealing to get money in order to buy drugs. And pretty soon they are gallivanting all over the country stealing jewels because to a drug addled mind, stealing diamonds looks like a shortcut to getting more drugs. In the end they aren’t cool or sexy. They are breaking every law of God and man because they are enslaved to a chemical. They aren’t trying to get one over on the man. They just want their next fix.

Not nearly as cool as the movies, huh?

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