Graff Diamonds Heist Suspect Charged
Post Date: 08 Sep 2009 Viewed: 557
British police charged a man with attempted murder Saturday in connection with a $65 million jewelry robbery in London last month, Associated Press reported.
Aman Kassaye, 24, faces the most serious charge so far in the August 6 robbery of Graff Diamonds. Six other men have already been charged with conspiracy to rob the prestigious Bond Street fine jeweler of diamond rings, bracelets, and watches, the report said.
Amateur video shot outside the store appeared to capture the aftermath of the robbery and images of screaming shoppers ducking for cover as a shot is fired. No one was hurt in the jewelry robbery, one of the biggest in British history, it said.
Security camera footage released by police shortly after the jewelry theft showed two men in suits being let into the store, where police say they pulled out guns, briefly took an employee hostage and escaped in a series of getaway cars across central London. Police said at the time they believed others helped the pair escape.
A British newspaper reported last month that the men were wearing stick-on prosthetic faces made from liquid latex. Police have refused to comment on the claim and declined to say whether any fine jewelry had been recovered, the AP report said.
Besides attempted murder, Kassaye is charged with conspiracy to rob, unlawful imprisonment, and using a handgun to avoid arrest. He was due to appear at a London court Monday.