5 Arrested in Fatal Robbery of Traveling Jewelry Salesman, Robberies Around North Texas

Five people have been arrested in connection with the fatal robbery of a traveling jewelry salesman last year, as well as a series of other robberies in North Texas. Johnnattan Ramirez, 35; Pedro Louis Alvarez, 32; Robert Riveros, 25; Eslevy Vargas-Avila, 27; and Catherine Contreras-Beltran, 28, are members of a South American theft ring that has "targeted members of the jewelry industry across this nation for a number of years," U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas said in a written statement.The five are accused of robbing Muhammed Shaikh, 41, after they followed him from a store in Richardson to a gas station in Euless. When Shaikh saw several people breaking into his rental car to take a case of jewlery, he tried to jump through the window of Ramirez's vehicle to retrieve it, police said.Ramirez swerved to try to get Shaikh off of the vehicle and struck other vehicles. He drove to an apartment complex in Irving where Shaikh was beaten, according to the indictment. Shaikh, who was found unconscious about two miles from the gas station, died at Parkland Memorial Hospital.In April 2016, Ramirez, Alvarez and Riveros robbed a traveling diamond and jewelry salesman as he left a store in Garland, according to a federal indictment. Riveros threatened the man with a gun and took a digital camera, rolling case and several other items while Alvarez was a lookout.  Continue reading...