Omaha Man Sentenced for Lincoln Jewelry Store Robbery

United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that Chief U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Joshua Z. Dortch, 29, today to 14 ½ years in federal prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Dortch previously pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm during that robbery.    

On March 23, 2018, at approximately 1:14 p.m., two armed men with gloves and masks entered the Sartor Hamann Jewelry Store located at 2900 Pine Lake Road, Lincoln, Nebraska, and demanded people in the store to not move and to be quiet.  One of the men smashed a watch case and the robbers left the store with 25 Rolex watches.  One of the watches was equipped with a GPS tracker.  Officers were able to locate Dortch and his co-defendant, Anwar Hunt, the watches and other evidence tying them to the robbery within a short time.

Hunt was sentenced previously to 13 ½ years’ imprisonment. 

The Lincoln Police Department and the FBI Great Plains Violent Crime Task Force, comprised of FBI agents, Omaha Police Department detectives, Nebraska State Patrol Investigators and Papillion Police Department Detectives, are responsible for the investigation of the robbery.