Men charged after SeaTac diamond robbery

SEATAC, Wash. – Authorities are investigating whether three men apprehended after a SeaTac jewel heist are linked to similar crimes in the area.

Seattlepi.com reported the men were charged Thursday with first-degree robbery and ordered held on $10 million each. They’re alleged to have robbed a jewel courier of more than $500,000 in diamonds. King County Superior Court records indicate the bail was set so high because the men may be linked to about $1 million in as-yet-missing stolen jewels.

The three defendants are identified as Jorge Tapias-Jaramillo, 41; Gustav Orrieta, 25; and Pablo Sanchez, 41. However, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Gary Ernsdorff wrote that fingerprint analyses and debit cards linked to the men gave varying names, muddying the verification of their identities.

Detectives believe the men are part of a coordinated criminal organization.

Other similar robberies that occurred in the area in the past year involved bands of two to four masked men who targeted lone jewel couriers.