Hernando County jewelry-theft suspect gets life probation in $16 million case

Justice finally caught up with part of the Hernando County jewelry-theft ring on June 4, when William Granims was sentenced to life probation and ordered to pay restitution in a case investigators say drained about $16 million from stores across Florida, including multiple burglaries in Hernando County.

Judge Daniel Merritt Jr. imposed the sentence after hearing from victims who wanted prison time instead. Prosecutors, however, asked for life probation and restitution, telling the court that Granims had been cooperating with authorities since 2022. The sentence ended one phase of a case that has dragged on through plea talks, continuances and separate legal problems involving the other defendants.

The burglary ring first became public in December 2019, when Hernando County sheriff’s investigators said three men had been arrested in connection with 23 jewelry-store burglaries statewide. Authorities said the stolen cash, jewelry, gold, silver, jewels and gems were worth about $16 million to $18 million. The alleged spree stretched from 2011 through 2017, with Hernando County hits in 2015 and 2016. Early reporting identified Granims, then 57, as the man who allegedly disabled alarms and monitored police frequencies; Matthew Petruccelli, then 67, as the lookout and owner of Secret Attic Thrift Store; and Michael Ornelas, then 56, as the planner and safe specialist. Detectives also said one Spring Hill burglary at New York Jeweler appeared to be an inside job.

For local jewelers, the damage went far beyond missing inventory. Denise Short, whose late husband Dan owned Dan-Lo Jewelers in Spring Hill, said the burglary wiped out retirement plans and forced the business to keep going long after they expected to slow down. Dan Short had said the losses topped $1 million after 40 years of saving for retirement. Kim Crescenzo described a similar toll at New York Jewelers, where thieves cut through walls and drilled into a safe.

Restitution can help replace direct financial losses, but it does not restore years of disruption, damaged trust or the sense of violation that followed the burglaries. That reality remains especially clear because the case is still not fully resolved.

Petruccelli received a continuance after his attorney said he needed time to obtain cancer treatment, and his sentencing is now set for July 16. Ornelas is presumed to be on the run after failing to appear for a court date in May, and his lawyers say they have not heard from him in months. For Hernando County victims, the sentence for Granims is a major step, but the final accounting in one of Florida’s largest jewelry-theft cases is still unfinished.