Alleged jewelry robber arrested

PERKINS TWP. — An alleged jewelry robber who victimized a Perkins Township business was recently arrested in Michigan. Khalieb Peterson, 31, of Henderson, Nevada, is facing one count of robbery, a third-degree felony. On Monday morning, officers were called to the Sandusky Mall in the 4300 block of Milan Road (U.S. 250) for the report of a snatch and grab robbery, according to Perkins police Detective Joseph Rotuno. Peterson reportedly entered a jewelry store in the mall when it opened, Rotuno said. He picked out three necklaces to look at. Store policy dictates that one item can be shown at a time, but Peterson reportedly kept going back and forth with the clerk about which necklace he wanted to look at so the clerk presented one on the counter while holding the other two. Peterson eventually snatched the two necklaces from the clerk's hands and the one on the counter and fled. The three necklaces had a combined value of about $25,000, Rotuno said. Police were unable to obtain security video from the mall, so they were unable to determine Peterson's direction of escape or the vehicle he entered. Law enforcement could only develop evidence from eyewitness statements and store security footage. Detectives were also able to obtain fingerprints and possible DNA evidence, but those take time to process. Using the department's access to the Flock license plate reader camera system, Detective Dylan Smith focused on the camera on Milan Road (U.S. 250) and Ohio 2. This is because police received word that another store in Strongsville had a similar robbery occur about one hour before the Perkins robbery. Police surmised that the culprit was probably the same and that he would arrive in Perkins via Ohio 2. Smith found a vehicle that entered and left the township at times that lined up with the crime. The vehicle was also on Strongsville's Flock system shortly after the robbery in that city, Rotuno said. Police were able to determine that the car was spotted in Toledo and then in the Detroit area. With assistance from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office auto theft division, the vehicle was found and stopped. Peterson was driving and taken into custody. Officers obtained a warrant for his motel room in Dearborn Heights. There, they found clothing and shoes that matched those Peterson was wearing in the Perkins store security footage, Rotuno said. He is incarcerated in the Oakland County Jail as of late Thursday. He is awaiting extradition to Erie County. Police believe the jewelry was sold on the street in Toledo. Peterson had approximately $1,800 on him at the time of his arrest. Perkins police seized the currency. Rotuno said Peterson has warrants in several states, including Georgia, Texas, California, Utah and Nevada.