Suspect in Midtown jewelry store heist on Madison Avenue appears in court

MIDTOWN (WABC) -- A suspect was in federal court Wednesday, suspected in Tuesday afternoon's brazen Tourneau jewelry store robbery.

Omar Rawlins, 18, is accused of stealing $730,000 worth of Rolex watches, according to the criminal complaint. The New York City Police Department put out pictures last night from jewelry store surveillance tapes showing his two accomplices.

On Tuesday around 1:30 p.m., the men, dressed in suits, ties and fedoras, held up the Tourneau store on Madison Avenue and 53rd Street. They smashed several display cases with a hammer in the Rolex part of the store. One of the men had a semi-automatic weapon and fired two shots, authorities say.

A retired NYPD officer was inside the store at the time and called 911. Rawlins was taken into custody as he fled. The other two fled north on Park Avenue.

During the incident, one customer was hit by a bullet fragment when a shot was fired into the floor of the store. A second shot was fired when an employee working in a back room stuck his head out through a door to see what happened.

The entire robbery took less than a minute. When arrested, Rawlins was wearing a black fedora, a light blue suit jacket, a red tie and black dress pants.

Rawlins is being held on $100,000 bail, or $5,000 cash, and faces up to 30 years in federal prison.