Third Individual Sentenced in Multi-State Jewelry Heists

Tallahassee, Fla.--Another individual found guilty in the multi-state jewelry heists fronted by an armed female robber has been sentenced to three decades behind bars.

According to court documents, federal Judge Robert Hinkle of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Florida handed down a sentence of 32 years and one day to 47-year-old Michael Bernard Gilmore for conspiracy to commit robberies affecting commerce along with multiple weapons charges.

Gilmore’s attorney, Thomas J. Cassidy III, confirmed to National Jeweler that his client will seek an appeal.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Gilmore, his brother Larry Bernard Gilmore, Abigail Lee Kemp and Lewis Jones III worked together to rob a total of six jewelry stores in 2015 and early 2016. They were located in Panama City Beach, Florida; Woodstock and Dawsonville, Georgia; Bluffton, South Carolina; Sevierville, Tennessee; and Mebane, North Carolina.

After the first robbery in April 2015 in Woodstock, law enforcement officials said that Jones and the Gilmore brothers began training Kemp to commit the robberies on her own using the Gilmores’ window tinting shop in Atlanta as their training facility.

The three men reviewed the jewelry store layouts with Kemp, taught her how to handle a gun and secure store employees with zip ties, and versed her on what merchandise to steal. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, they also gave her code words, picked her clothes and disguises, and purchased supplies for her while  selecting dates and locations for the robberies.

While she was in the stores, Kemp would communicate with Jones and the Gilmore brothers, who were conducting surveillance outside, via an earpiece.

Kemp testified against the three men at their trial last summer after pleading guilty and they were found guilty of conspiracy to commit robberies affecting commerce along with multiple weapons charges.

She was sentenced in January, receiving 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy, interfering with commerce by robbery and using a firearm during commission of a crime.

Larry Bernard Gilmore was sentenced at the same time as Kemp, also receiving a 32-year sentence for the charges. 

In addition, court documents show that the four jointly owe restitution of approximately $1.5 million.

Sentencing of the fourth individual involved in the robberies, Jones, has been delayed. Court documents show that he now is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27.