In July, the owners of a home in the 6000 block of St. Vrain Road reported over $475,000 in jewelry stolen from their home. It took the involvement of several police departments before the suspect was arrested.
The homeowners had left town in June 2023 while in the process of selling their home. During their absence, the home was visited by a number of people including real estate agents and their clients, housekeepers, landscapers and more. The number of visitors complicated the investigation, according to a news release from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
In August, diamonds weighing just over four carats were sent to the Gemological Institute of America for evaluation. The diamonds’ serial numbers matched some of the gems stolen and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office was contacted.
The diamonds came from a diamond dealer in Cherry Creek. Investigators worked with the Denver Police Department and learned that Bryce Almus, 31, had pawned the diamonds in the shop.
Almus was on the list of clients who had visited the victims’ home in June/July.
Almus left the state and went to Benton Harbor, Michigan. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Michigan State Police to request assistance. The Michigan State Police arrested Almus on Nov. 27 and he was extradited to the Boulder County Jail on Dec. 5.
Six pieces of jewelry were stolen from the property with a combined value of $475,000. The detectives were able to recover “a 4.31-carat diamond ring, a morganite necklace, a pair of morganite earrings, a pair of diamond/sapphire earrings, and a 4.03-carat diamond that had been removed from its setting in a ring. Not all the jewelry was recovered and some of the recovered items were incomplete (e.g., the diamond/sapphire earrings were missing a drop with a pearl),” according to the news release.
Almus was charged with one count of theft, $100,000-$1,000,000, a class 3 felony; and two counts of pawnbroker–prohibited acts, $100,000-$1,000,000, a class 3 felony. He bonded out of jail on a $200,000 personal recognizance bond that had been set by the court.
