Armed robber of Kay Jewelers sentenced

ATLANTA - Cephos Leyon Jamal White, a/k/a Jamal, has been sentenced to ten years, one month in federal prison for the armed robbery of a jewelry store in Conyers, Georgia in April 2017.

“White robbed four jewelry stores at gunpoint, tied the employees up, and stole jewelry worth more than $1 million,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “The cooperation between federal and local law enforcement ended this crime spree, and brought him to justice.”

“Thanks to the cooperation between our local and federal partners, White and his accomplice will be out of commission for a long time,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Though the lives of the innocent victims they terrorized will never be the same, those victims can take solace in the fact White won’t be able to terrorize anyone else while he serves a lengthy sentence.”

“I am very proud of the efforts by our Detectives and the working relationship with the FBI and US Attorney’s Office in bringing these people to justice,” said Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson.  “We are pleased to bring the victims in this case, and others, a sense of security after such a harrowing robbery committed by these individuals.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: On April 18, 2017, Cephos Jamal White and Sandrika Sears went to a Kay Jewelers store in Conyers posing as a couple interested in buying a ring. The couple wore hats and sunglasses to disguise their facial features and Sears wore a wig.

After White introduced the couple as “Jamal” and “Monae,” White pulled out a gun and Sears helped him bind the two store clerks with zip-ties. White’s and Sears’s criminal scheme netted the pair a cache of jewelry with a retail value of approximately $1.5 million.

Cephos Leyon Jamal White, a/k/a Jamal, 30, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Steven C. Jones to ten years, one month in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.  White was convicted of these charges on December 12, 2017, after he pleaded guilty. Sandrika Sears also pleaded guilty on January 12, 2018, to the armed robbery of Kay Jewelers, but her sentencing hearing is pending.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Conyers Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Plummer prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.

For further information, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.