Over $475,000 in Jewelry Stolen from Boulder County Home

Boulder County, Colo. - In early July 2023, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) received a report of a burglary and theft from a home in the 6000 block of St. Vrain Road in unincorporated Boulder County. The home was believed to have been burglarized sometime during the month of June while the homeowners were out of town. The home was on the market at the time and therefore had many people coming and going from the property (realtors and their clients, housekeepers, landscapers, etc.) thus complicating the investigation. The victims reported that six pieces of jewelry were stolen during the burglary, with a combined value of over $475,000.

The lead assigned detective from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office worked in collaboration with an investigator from the victims’ insurance company and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to obtain full descriptions of the jewelry as well as estimates of their value. In August 2023, the detective learned via the GIA that they had been in possession of two diamonds, each with a weight of just over four carats. These two diamonds were identified through both serial numbers and precise visual descriptors as part of the lot of stolen jewelry. The diamonds had been sent to GIA for evaluation by a wholesale diamond dealer in Cherry Creek, Colorado.

BCSO detectives contacted the diamond dealer in Cherry Creek and later served a search warrant at the business with the assistance of detectives and officers from the Denver Police Department. As a result, detectives learned the identity of the individual who had pawned the stolen diamonds through the wholesaler and were ultimately able to recover two of the diamonds. The suspect was identified as 31-year-old Bryce Daniel ALMUS, a resident of Silverthorne, Colorado. Investigators were also able to determine that ALMUS was listed as having visited the victims’ residence on at least one occasion as a prospective buyer of the home.

Detectives were able to recover the following items of stolen jewelry during the course of the investigation: 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. Not all the jewelry was recovered and some of the recovered items were incomplete (e.g., the diamond/sapphire earrings were missing a drop with a pearl).

The BCSO detective obtained an arrest warrant for ALMUS for the following charges: one count of theft, $100,000-$1,000,000, a class 3 felony; and two counts of pawnbroker – prohibited acts, $100,000-$1,000,000, a class 3 felony.

Detectives learned through further investigation that ALMUS was likely in the vicinity of Benton Harbor, Michigan. The BCSO detective contacted the Michigan State Police to request their assistance in locating and apprehending ALMUS. On November 27, 2023, we were informed that investigators with the Michigan State Police had located and arrested ALMUS in Berrien County, Michigan on our arrest warrant. On December 5, 2023, detectives from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office extradited ALMUS from Michigan and booked him into the Boulder County Jail. On December 6, he bonded out of jail on a $200,000 personal recognizance bond set by the court.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank our colleagues at the Denver Police Department and the Michigan State Police with their assistance in this investigation and the apprehension of ALMUS.

The associated BCSO case number for this investigation is 23-03656.

As in every criminal case, these charges are merely an accusation. and the defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
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/s/Detective Sergeant Clay Leak