The alleged criminal behind a series of armed heists, carjackings, and jewelry store stickups has been apprehended by federal authorities. Franco Alexander Peraza Navas, 30, now faces charges related to a spree of at least two gunpoint carjackings and six gunpoint robberies and attempted robberies. Authorities arrested Navas in Yonkers on Sunday, Dec. 17.
The crime wave unfolded between August and December this year. Navas’s most lucrative heist occurred in October during a daring jewelry store robbery on 103rd St. in Queens. Prosecutors allege that he shot through a bulletproof partition, kicked through the damaged barrier, and made off with approximately $375,000 worth of diamond and gold rings, escaping on a black moped.
The suspect’s bold actions continued in November, where he fired shots during another jewelry store robbery. Despite a police attempt to apprehend him in Queens on Nov. 3, Navas managed to evade capture, allowing him to commit three additional violent offenses before his eventual arrest on Sunday.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn cited cell tower data and witness statements that ultimately led to Navas’s identification.
A Brooklyn Federal Court ordered Navas held without bail at his arraignment on Monday.
