Jewelry Theft Ring Leader Gets Six Years In Federal Prison
Alex Lloyd Gross-File Photo Delaware Valley News.com US Attorney Jacqueline Romero
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Aug 4, 2023
US Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Duanne Pierce, 60, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was sentenced to 77 months’ imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and $606,394.60 in restitution and other penalties by United States District Court Senior Judge Cynthia M. Rufe for conspiring to transport stolen property across state lines and interstate transportation of stolen property.
From 2018 through 2020 Pierce would steal jewelry from 12 different stores across the United States. Pierce would then transport the stolen jewelry back to Philadelphia, where it would be sold to stores along jewelers row. His crew would go into the stores, take high end chains and diamond rings and by walking into employee only areas of the store, after distracting employees.
The value of the stolen jewelry was over $600,000 authorities said. In March 2022, a federal grand jury returned a 10-count Indictment charging Duanne Pierce and codefendants Charles Tillery, Janel Pierce, Yolanda Fife, David Tillery, Telfa Wills, and Clifton Fleming with conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Count 1), and interstate transportation of stolen property and aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2 (Counts 2 through 10). In March 2023, Pierce pled guilty to Counts 1 through 10 of the Indictment. Each of Pierce’s codefendants has also pled guilty.
“Duanne Pierce and his co-defendants were both prolific and strategic in their thefts, sometimes targeting multiple jewelry stores in the same day. Then they’d move on to a different city and do it again, hauling the stolen loot back to Philly to resell,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Through the investigative efforts of the FBI and numerous law enforcement partners across the country, this crew has been dismantled and is being held accountable for their crimes. For his leadership role in the conspiracy, Pierce will now spend years in federal prison.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lancaster (PA) Police Department, Plantation (FL) Police Department, Greenville (SC) Police Department, Concord (NC) Police Department, Anderson (SC) Police Department, Jackson County (GA) Sheriff’s Office, Knoxville (TN) Police Department, Manchester (CT) Police Department, Howard County (MD) Police Department, Arlington County (VA) Police Department, Indianapolis (IN) Metropolitan Police Department, and Miami Township (OH) Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Rice, Katherine Shulman, and Kevin Jayne.