SALT LAKE CITY — A Las Vegas man who allegedly posed as an FBI agent looking for fugitives and allegedly stole thousands of dollars in jewelry from a St. George shop last fall is behind bars.
Federal agents and local police arrested Kevin White, 57, on Monday in Las Vegas on a federal complaint and warrant charging him with one count of robbery. Items the alleged robber left behind eventually led authorities to track him down.
Two women were working at family-owned Seven Oaks Fine Jewelers on Sept. 28, 2019, when a man wearing a straw cowboy hat, black jacket with “FBI” on the back, and a metal FBI badge on a lanyard around his neck walked in. He was carrying a black portfolio, handcuffs and a handheld radio. He also had a handgun in a holster on his right hip, according to the criminal complaint in U.S. District Court.
The man said he was an FBI agent and pulled several wanted posters from the portfolio and showed them to the workers. He told them that the fugitives had been in the St. George area and asked if they recognized any of them. He also asked whether anyone else was working in the store. They told him they did not recognize the people in the photos and that they were the only ones in the store.
According to the complaint, the man began to leave, but turned toward a display case and started asking questions about the jewelry.
“Came in looking for a suspect, might be leaving with an engagement ring,” he told the employees. The two employees, one behind the counter and one a few feet from the man, displayed several jewelry items for him.
At one point, he told the employee standing near him to get behind the counter with the other employee and pulled out a black handgun, according to the complaint.
“If you hit the button, I’ll kill you,” he said, referring to the silent alarm. The man grabbed the jewelry from the counter and put it into a bag. He told the employees he would kill them if the exit doors were locked, the complaint says.
The man left the store with 27 pieces of jewelry valued at $39,214, but in his haste, left behind a brown fabric bag and the black portfolio.
Investigators submitted the bag and portfolio to the FBI laboratory for forensic analysis.
Agents were notified last week that the DNA profile obtained from the portfolio matched White.
White, who has used at least 17 aliases, was on federal supervised release after serving 165 months in prison for an armed robbery of a Las Vegas jewelry store. According to a sentencing memo filed in the Nevada case, he is an eight-time felon who has committed multiple robberies.
The complaint was unsealed Tuesday in federal court in St. George where White made an initial appearance. He remains in custody.