BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — A Silverthorne man is accused of stealing $475,000-worth of jewelry from a Boulder County home that was listed for sale.
The Boulder County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) said the incident was reported in early July at a home in the 6000 block of St. Vrain Road in unincorporated Boulder County. Investigators believed the home was burglarized sometime in June while the homeowners were out of town.
At the time, the house was on the market, meaning many people were coming and going from the property, according to the sheriff's office. The victims reported six pieces of jewelry were stolen, with a combined value of more than $475,000.
BCSO worked with an investigator with the victims' insurance company and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to obtain full descriptions of the jewelry and its estimated value.
In August, the GIA received two diamonds, each with a weight of just over four carats. The serial numbers and visual descriptors of the diamonds matched those of the stolen jewelry, BCSO said.
According to the sheriff's office, the diamonds were sent to the GIA for evaluation by a wholesale diamond dealer in Cherry Creek, Colorado. Detectives contacted the diamond dealer and later executed a search warrant at the business. As a result, detectives learned the identity of the person who pawned the stolen diamonds through the wholesaler and recovered two of the stolen diamonds.
The sheriff's office identified the suspect as Bryce Daniel Almus, 31, of Silverthorne. He was listed as having visited the home at least once as a prospective buyer, according to BCSO.
Authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Almus for one count of theft — $100,000 - $1,000,000 (Class 3 felony) and two counts of pawnbroker — prohibited acts, $100,000 - $1,000,000 (Class 3 felony).
Investigators learned Almus was likely in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He was arrested by Michigan State Police in Berrien County on Nov. 27 and extradited to Boulder County on Dec. 5. He was booked into the Boulder County Jail and given a $200,000 personal recognizance bond. Almus bonded out of jail on Dec. 6, according to BCSO.
The sheriff's office said several jewelry pieces were recovered, including a 4.31 carat diamond ring, a morganite necklace, a pair of morganite earrings, a pair of diamond/sapphire earrings and a 4.03 carat diamond that had been removed from its setting in a ring. BCSO said not all of the jewelry was recovered, and some of the recovered items were missing jewels.
