Suspect in Yuma jewelry store theft sentenced

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The man accused of stealing an undisclosed amount of merchandise from Zales Jewelers in August of 2024 has been sentenced.

36-year-old Deandre Lamar Wells has been sentenced to four years of intensive probation after pleading guilty to theft last month.

On August 1, 2024, officers responded to an alarm at Zales Jewelers, located in the Yuma Palms Regional Center, and found the front glass door was damaged upon arrival.

The Yuma Police Department (YPD) said Wells "entered the store through the broken door, shattered display cases and fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of merchandise."

Three months into the investigation, YPD says their detectives identified Wells as the suspect, and in September of last year, the grand jury was presented the case, and YPD said an arrest warrant was issued for Wells.

YPD says later that month, Wells was arrested in Tarrant County, Texas by the U.S. Marshals Service, and was extradited back to Yuma.