Ex-Mt. Juliet, Brentwood jewelry store employee sentenced for $1 million Kentucky heist
A Mt. Juliet man who worked at a family-owned jewelry store has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with a Kentucky jewelry heist valued at approximately $1 million.
Marshall Dwight Belew II, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of complicity to commit theft and one count of complicity to commit second degree burglary earlier this year in connection with the 2020 jewelry theft, according to the Warren County Circuit Court Clerk office. Belew will be eligible for parole after two years served after being sentenced on Monday, his attorney Jeff Cherry said.
Belew worked at American Jewelry Company started by his parents in 1974. Marshall Belew has never been an owner of American Jewelry, Cherry said. American Jewelry Company has locations in Mt. Juliet and Brentwood.
The crime occurred in July 2020 when multiple people entered a home on Smallhouse Road in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and assaulted an employee working there, police then said.
The employee was restrained by zip ties as robbers removed a large safe containing an estimated 300-400 pieces of jewelry, according to police.
The jewelry stolen was believed to have been part of a collection that belonged to the late Western Kentucky University Provost Barbara Burch, police said. Six people were charged in all.
Belew also was required to pay just over $462,000 in restitution, which Cherry said has been paid.
“During the course of testimony he continuously expressed his remorse, the shame, the sorrow, the sadness about what his role in this caused the victims as well as the effect his actions have had on his family and friends,” Cherry said. “He took full responsibility for his actions.”
A number of people wrote recommendation letters for Belew urging for leniency in the sentencing, according to the Warren County Circuit Court Clerk’s office. Recommendation letters included one from Launchpoint Church, according to the court clerk’s office.
Javier Nunez and Nicolas Cruz-Palacios are both serving prison sentences for their involvement in the crime, Cherry said. Defendants Frank Leonard and Patricia Weisman have sentencing hearings coming up. Another defendant in the case has died, according to Cherry.
Cell phone records linked Belew to the case, according to an arrest warrant.
Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Marshall Belew of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, sentenced in $1M jewelry heist
