Five masked men smashed through display cases at a Las Vegas Super Pawn on Sept. 9, making off with 67 pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $250,979, according to police. More than three weeks later, investigators say DNA evidence and a prior booking photo led them to a 19-year-old suspect whose arrest only came after a high-speed chase that ended in a PIT maneuver.
A Scouted Target and a Smash-and-Grab
According to 8 News Now, the store manager at Super Pawn, located near W. Cheyenne Avenue and N. Rainbow Boulevard, reported that the five masked individuals used hammers to smash display cases and grab jewelry before fleeing in a sedan. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators reportedly showed the same sedan pulling up on the day of the burglary, with the five masked men running toward the pawn shop entrance. The footage wasn't the only lead: police said at least one suspect had visited the store two days earlier, on Sept. 7, and was seen examining the shop's jewelry case before the burglary took place.
The break in the case came when police were contacted about a suspicious sedan found with its doors open and jewelry scattered around it behind the Grove Apartments on N. Rainbow Boulevard. A Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles records search showed the sedan had been reported stolen, according to the station's report. A North Las Vegas police detective then identified one of the masked suspects as Damien Romero, matching a prior booking photo and a distinctive neck tattoo, and a DNA sample recovered from inside the sedan was forensically examined and used to tie him to the stolen vehicle, per the same account.
Chase Ends With a PIT Maneuver
Police tried to stop Romero 24 days after the burglary while he was driving near the intersection of Nellis Boulevard and Gowan Road, the article notes. That stop quickly turned into a high-speed chase, which ended on Oct. 3 when officers used a PIT maneuver near The Tides at Cheyenne apartment complex. Inside the vehicle involved in the pursuit, police said they found a rifle and jewelry still bearing price tags.
Romero pleaded guilty on Oct. 22 to possession of a stolen car and fleeing police, and he was scheduled to be sentenced the following Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, according to 8 News Now. Before sentencing, Romero will also serve the remainder of his conviction for possession of a stolen car, which carries a minimum prison sentence of one year. Nevada Department of Corrections records show Romero assigned to High Desert State Prison, and a Friday search of police records did not turn up any additional arrests tied to the Super Pawn burglary.
A Pattern of Organized Retail Theft Cases in the Valley
Romero's case arrives as Las Vegas police continue pursuing other organized theft investigations around the valley, though the two cases are not shown to be connected. In a separate, months-long probe, police said they recovered more than 900 stolen items valued at over $418,000, according to News 3. That investigation led detectives to 49-year-old Roberto Fuentes, accused of buying stolen merchandise and reselling it online; a search warrant was served at his residence in the 2300 block of Decosta Circle on May 7, and he was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges connected to participating in an organized retail crime theft ring and buying, possessing, and receiving stolen property.
Stolen-vehicle convictions in Clark County have carried real prison time in other recent cases as well. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that 37-year-old Leonardo Delis was sentenced to 19 to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty in March to possession of a stolen vehicle. In that case, Delis ran from a holding area into a courthouse hallway immediately after sentencing but was quickly returned to custody, a prosecutor told the paper.
For now, Romero's Super Pawn case remains open on the question of accomplices. Police have not announced any additional arrests tied to the five masked suspects seen on surveillance video, and it remains unclear whether the remaining jewelry has been recovered.
