Business Owner Associate Arrested in Brazen Midtown Jewelry Store Heist: Police

Police say they have arrested a man in last week's brazen mid-day jewelry store heist in midtown, but are still looking for the two suspects who executed the robbery.

Rondu Frisby, 37, was taken into police custody Monday. He's charged with robbery, and two counts each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana, according to the NYPD.

It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.

According to a complaint unsealed in federal court Tuesday, Frisby, a friend of the store owner, went to the business on 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues on the afternoon of Nov. 11, ostensibly to help a friend pick out jewelry for the friend's girlfriend. 

Moments later, he let in a well-dresed man who claimed to be a messenger, the complaint said. That man first said he was there to serve the owner with papers, and after taking out two envelopes from his bag, showed a gun and pointed it at the owner, two other employees, and Frisby, and demanded all the jewelry inside the store.

Frisby and the three others emptied more than $600,000 worth of jewelry from a safe and gave it to the suspect before the fake messenger fled with another suspect in the hallway, who had been acting as a lookout. 

Police say they're still searching for those two suspects. Fingerprints have helped police identify one of them as 58-year-old Leon Fenner (picture above), who allegedly acted as the messenger during the robbery.

Cellphone records show Fenner and Frisby communicated on their phones 25 times the day of the robbery -- before and after, but not during, according to prosecutors. Surveillance video also shows Frisby walking into the store first, with Fenner and the other suspect about 20 to 30 feet behind him.  

A search warrant executed at Frisby's home uncovered more than $100.,000 in cash, prosecutors said. 

The Nov. 11 heist drew a swarm of SWAT teams to the busy midtown block as the Veterans Day Parade marched several blocks away. 

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