SOUTHLAND : $900,000 Jewel Bandit Arrested

A Colombian national accused of taking part in a $900,000 theft from a Van Nuys jewelry saleswoman last summer was in jail today after he was spotted by detectives on surveillance in the Wilshire District, Los Angeles police said this morning.

Edwin Lopez, 26, who police believe is a member of a ring responsible for $200 million in jewelry thefts in Los Angeles last year, was arrested Tuesday night and was being held in lieu of $1-million bail, Detective Michael Woodings said.

Lopez was wanted on a warrant charging him with burglary from the auto of Sandra Smith on Aug. 25, Woodings said.

Smith, a sales representative for Van Lightner Jewelry in Van Nuys, was carrying the jewels in a canvas bag when her car overheated in Hollywood, causing her to stop, Woodings said. When Smith tried to get help, four suspects ran to her car, broke a window, grabbed the jewels and fled. Later it was discovered that Smith’s radiator hose had been slashed.

Fingerprints connected Lopez to the scene, Woodings said. At the time of his arrest, detectives were watching other members of the alleged theft ring when they noticed Lopez, he said. The jewelry taken in the robbery has not been recovered. The three other suspects are at large, Woodings said.