Owings Mills Man Gets Prison for Jewelry Store Robbery, Kidnapping, Brandishing Gun

An Owings Mills man has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of conspiracy, kidnapping and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, in connection with both the robbery of a local jewelry store as well as a home invasion robbery, carjacking and kidnapping,

According to a statement by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Grigoriy "Greg" Zilberman, 25, conspired with Stanislav "Steven" Yelizarov to rob an Owings Mills jewelry store after committing an armed home invasion robbery to steal firearms for use in robbing the jewelry store.

According to the statement, on July 22, 2012, Yelizarov, Zilberman and two other conspirators robbed a home in Reisterstown. Zilberman had reportedly been a guest in the home a number of times and knew that the residents of the home owned firearms. After conducting surveillance of the home for several days prior to the robbery, at 2:30 a.m., the conspirators, dressed all in black and wearing ski masks and latex gloves, entered the home through the garage door.

Yelizarov was armed with a handgun when they entered the residence. The other three men grabbed long guns as they entered the home and carried them with them. A resident of the home was asleep when the four robbers entered his bedroom and woke him up, pointing guns at him and shining flashlights in his eyes. Yelizarov beat the resident when he tried to resist while another tied up the resident with a belt and a cord.

The robbers reportedly ransacked the home for about an hour, looking for firearms and other valuables. After the robbers left, the resident was able to free himself and call police. The resident was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Among the items stolen from the house were 10 long guns (rifles and shotguns), a crossbow, a laptop computer, and jewelry. Numerous electronic devices including computers and televisions were destroyed during the robbery. The value of the items stolen was approximately $10,000.

Yelizarov devised a plan to commit the jewelry store robbery and recruited Zilberman and several others to participate in the robbery. Prior to the robbery, the conspirators gathered intelligence, including conducting surveillance and attaching a GPS device to the car of an employee of the jewelry store in order to learn the employee’s travel routine and habits. Zilberman also exploited his friendship with the employee to obtain information about the operation of the jewelry store and the habits of the employee.

According to their plea agreements, on January 15, 2013, Zilberman enticed the employee to visit his home, in order to alert the other co-conspirators of the employee’s whereabouts. While the employee was at Zilberman’s home, the other conspirators met at Yelizarov’s residence to prepare for the kidnapping and robbery, including preparing the firearms and donning masks and gloves. Early the next morning, two of the other conspirators followed the employee from Zilberman’s home and notified the other conspirators of the employee’s location so they could follow the employee.

Yelizarov and three others used a law enforcement-type light bar and a loudspeaker to impersonate a police officer and pull over the employee. Brandishing firearms which were supplied by Yelizarov, the conspirators removed the employee from his car, bound and blindfolded him, put him into the trunk of his own car, and drove him to a predetermined location. Once at the location, they continued to brandish firearms and threatened to kill the employee’s family if he did not comply with their demands or if he reported the incident to police. The employee complied and at approximately 3:52 a.m., Yelizarov and another drove the employee’s vehicle from the remote location to the jewelry store. The two others stayed with the employee.

Yelizarov and another were stationed near the jewelry store to act as look-outs. They entered the jewelry store and stole jewelry, stones, and watches valued at about $500,000, then drove back to the remote location. The employee was then placed back into the trunk of his car and driven to another location, where he was left. The employee was able to kick his way out of the trunk through the back seat of his car.

On January 18, 2013, Yelizarov sold a portion of the stolen jewelry for approximately $29,000 to an FBI informant. The next day, he traveled to Brooklyn, New York to sell some of the jewelry and stones taken during the robbery, receiving over $100,000. On January 21, he returned to Maryland and divided the cash proceeds among the members of the conspiracy and others.

On January 25, Yelizarov was arrested in Buffalo, New York on charges of federal misuse of a passport. From January 25 through February 2, 2013, Yelizarov reportedly placed calls directing several of the other conspirators to remove and dispose of evidence at his house related to the jewelry store robbery, including cash from the sale of the jewelry, firearms used during the conspiracy, the law enforcement light bar, the GPS device, a laptop computer and other evidence of the crimes.

Yelizarov, of Pikesville, Maryland, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, after he pleaded guilty to a robbery conspiracy, kidnapping, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Several of the other conspirators have also been arrested and given sentences ranging from four to 18 years depending on their roles in the crimes. One conspirator has been arrested but is awaiting sentencing.

Zilberman was sentenced to three years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

All of the conspirators have been ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution.