Smyrna Woman Indicted in Multi-State Jewelry Theft Ring

(Image via FBI)

ATLANTA, GA -- A Smyrna woman is facing multiple charges for her alleged role in a multi-state jewelry theft operation.

Abigail Lee Kemp, 24, and Lewis Jones III, 35, of Atlanta, were arraigned Friday in federal court after a grand jury returned an indictment charging them with conspiracy, obstructing commerce by robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The indictment alleges that, between April 2015 and January 2016, Kemp and Jones conspired to commit armed robberies at a series of jewelry stores, including Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, and Reeds Jewelers. It further alleges that Kemp and Jones brandished and used a firearm during the robbery of Reeds Jewelers.

Kemp and Jones were first charged by criminal complaint last month. They were arrested together in the Smyrna area charges related to the armed robberies of six jewelry stores in Panama City Beach, FL; Woodstock, GA; Dawsonville, GA; Bluffton, S.C.; Mebane, N.C.; and Sevierville, TN.

The charging documents reflect that, in each robbery, the robber brandished a firearm and ordered the employees to the back of the store where they were forced to lie face down on the ground with their hands zip tied behind their backs. Hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of jewelry was then removed from the jewelry display cases.

Kemp was taken into custody without incident Friday, Jan. 8 in Smyrna by agents from the FBI’s Atlanta Division, who were assisting their Jacksonville counterparts with the investigation.

The Jacksonville Division earlier this week issued a plea to the public after the latest in a string of armed robberies was reported the morning of Monday, Jan. 4 at a Jared Vault store in Mebane, North Carolina.

Within hours of that formal request, the FBI began to receive numerous credible leads from the public, the agency said.