Condo worker charged with diamond theft
Toolbox
By Alan J. Keays Herald Staff - Published: January 31, 2007
A former maintenance worker at a Killington condominium complex is charged with stealing an expensive diamond from a guest's engagement ring and replacing it with a cheaper fake stone.
According to court records, Shawn A. Williams, 42, of Mendon, later sold the real 1.41 carat diamond, appraised now at $12,000 and purchased three years ago for about $16,000, to a Rutland jeweler for $3,300 before his ruse was eventually discovered.
Williams pleaded innocent Tuesday in Rutland District Court to felony charges of burglary and larceny. He was ordered jailed for lack of $20,000 bail.
Jonathan Heppell, a court-appointed attorney representing Williams, had asked Judge Francis McCaffrey to set a lower bail amount to allow his client to remain free. Heppell added that Williams was a lifelong resident of the Rutland area and was not a risk to flee.
"He's here, your honor. He's not going anywhere," Heppell said of his client. Williams no longer works as a maintenance employee with the company managing the condo complex, his attorney added.
"I'm sure he'll be looking for other employment," Heppell said.
Deputy State's Attorney Marc Brierre called for the judge to impose the $20,000 bail request, saying the crime did not appear to be a spur of the moment action.
"It clearly involved some skill and planning," the prosecutor said.
Vermont State Police said they received a call on Friday from a Connecticut resident reporting that he had been vacationing in Killington with his wife earlier in the month, staying at the Whiffle Tree Condominiums, which is managed by Killington Accommodations.
The man told police that while at the condomium complex, his wife would occasionally leave her diamond engagement ring on the nightstand in the bedroom, for fear of losing it while out skiing.
One evening, the man told police, his wife put on the ring and noticed that it felt different on her finger and discovered that the diamond was missing from the setting. She eventually found what she thought was her diamond on the bedroom nightstand, the man said to police.
The man said once he returned to Connecticut with his wife they went to get the ring repaired at the jeweler where it was purchased about three years ago.
"Upon examination, the stone thought to be her diamond was found to a cubic zirconium," a police affidavit stated. In addition, the prongs to the ring's setting appeared damaged, according to the affidavit.
"(The jeweler) advised his examination of the ring revealed that someone had likely pried the stone from its setting with a pair of pliers," the affidavit stated.
Vermont State Police said they then received a specific description of the missing diamond and contacted local jewelers in Rutland to put them on alert that someone may try to sell it.
One jeweler reported that he had the diamond in a safe in his store and it had been purchased from Williams for $3,300, the police affidavit stated. The jeweler said to police that Williams told him that the diamond was from the estate of a family member.
Police said they then questioned Williams, who admitted to stealing the ring using a key card to get into the room. Williams worked as a maintenance person for Killington Accommodations, according to the police affidavit.
Williams told police "he saw the ring in the room and figured it was probably worth something," the affidavit stated. "Mr. Williams advised he removed the diamond from the ring with a pair of pliers and left the fake stone on the dresser."
If convicted of the two felony offenses, Williams faces up to 25 years in jail.
Contact Alan J. Keays at alan.keays@rutlandherald.com.
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