BROOKINGS — A grand jury in Brookings County has indicted a Brookings resident on multiple charges for his alleged role in a burglary involving the theft of diamond rings valued at more than $78,000.
Larry Black, 52, was indicted on April 22 in the March 3 incident at Riddle’s Jewelry, 950 22nd Ave., in Brookings, according to information from the Brookings Police Department and the Brookings County State’s Attorney’s Office. The charges are:
• Third-degree burglary, which, under state law, is a Class 5 felony.
• Grand theft, a Class 4 felony.
• Intentional damage to property, a Class 4 felony.
If convicted on all counts, Black faces a maximum potential penalty of 25 years in prison and fines totaling $50,000. Those numbers derive from the potential for 10-year prison terms and $20,000 fines for each Class 4 violation, and the five-year prison term and $10,000 fine for the Class 5 violation.
The BPD said the rings have been recovered, and Black remained in the Brookings County Detention Center as of June 1, awaiting trial.
The incident unfolded on March 3 at 12:29 a.m., when the BPD responded to an alarm indicating a break-in at Riddle’s Jewelry. Officers arrived to find shattered glass, missing rings and a smear of blood, according to a probable cause statement.
Investigators determined the bicycle used in the burglary did not belong to Black. The owner was not involved in the crime, and Black allegedly took and returned the bike without permission, according to the statement.
The statement noted that, following April 14 results from state lab testing of the blood, a warrant was issued to obtain Black’s DNA and to search the residence he was living in at Normandy Village Mobile Home Park.
He was taken into custody on April 15.
— Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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