Ivan Carvajal, Tito Vargas, Luis Flores, Maria Guitierrez, Interstate Jewelry Robbery, Texas 2011

A brazen jewelry heist in College Station, Texas, has led to the sentencing of four individuals to federal prison.

On August 24, 2011, Ivan Carvajal, 30, of Houston, Tito Vargas, 25, of Houston, Luis Flores, 22, of Houston, and Maria Guitierrez, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia, followed a traveling jeweler from New York as he visited several jewelry stores to show his merchandise.

The next day, the group waited for the jeweler at the location where he had left his merchandise and robbed him of approximately $200,000 worth of jewelry at gunpoint in College Station.

Immediately after the robbery, Gutierrez and Carvajal were involved in a traffic accident, fled the scene, and were soon arrested for fleeing the scene of an accident. Inside their car, officers found broken glass consistent with the recent broken window from the victim’s car along with other evidence tying them to the robbery.

Brayan Vargas and Tito Vargas were later arrested at an apartment complex in Houston for their role in the College Station robbery based on evidence developed after the robbery. At the time of their arrest, agents located a large sum of U.S. currency, a diamond tester, and jewelry taken during the College Station robbery.

Luis Flores was arrested for his role in the College Station robbery while serving time in the Texas Department of Corrections for an attempted theft of a jeweler that occurred on April 21, 2011. At the time of the College Station robbery, he was out on bond on that charge.

The four defendants were sentenced in federal prison: Ivan Carvajal to 136 months, Tito Vargas to 57 months, Luis Flores to 60 months, and Maria Guitierrez to 60 months. Brayan Vargas, 19, of Bogota, Colombia, is currently a fugitive in the case and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for any information called in to 713-222-TIPS (8477) or submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org that leads to the location and arrest of Brayan Vargas. Tips can also be sent by text message. Text TIP610 plus your tip to CRIMES (274637).

This prosecution is a result of the collaborative work of members of the FBI, police departments in College Station and Navasota, Brazos County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kebharu H. Smith and Joe Magliolo are prosecuting the case.

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