Jewel heist defendant deemed fugitive after missing Hernando court hearing

Michael Ornelas became a fugitive in Judge Daniel Merritt’s eyes after he failed to show up for a Hernando County sentencing status hearing in a jewelry-heist case that has stretched on for years and left local stores waiting for closure.

Merritt also changed Ornelas’ June 4 court date from final sentencing to another status hearing after Ornelas did not appear and state officials said they could find no evidence that he had recently been treated at any hospital or medical facility. Ornelas had already missed an April 23 status hearing, and his attorney, Brooksville-based Eric Tippin, told the court he was suffering from severe, unmanaged diabetes and asked for leniency. Tippin said his office had not heard from Ornelas for a couple of months and said he hoped Ornelas was safe.

The missed hearing pushed back the end of a case that has followed Michael Ornelas, Matthew Petrucelli and William Anthony Granims for more than six years since their 2018 arrest after a failed burglary attempt in Glenview, Illinois. Hernando County sheriff’s authorities did not announce the statewide burglary charges until December 2019. The three men are accused of stealing about $16 million in valuables from 23 jewelry stores across Florida between 2011 and 2017, including multiple stores in Hernando County, where the losses have been put at about $1 million.

Ornelas previously entered a no contest plea to four burglary charges and one racketeering count. The sentencing had first been set for March 26, then was continued to June 4 before Thursday’s hearing turned into another delay. In cases like this, the court still controls whether punishment, restitution and other penalties ever get imposed, but that depends first on finding the defendant and bringing him back before the judge.

The case drew attention because the defendants were not ordinary smash-and-grab burglars. Investigators said the ring broke through walls of adjacent businesses, disabled alarms, monitored police frequencies, drilled into safes and went after the most valuable merchandise inside. Dan-Lo Jewelers owner Dan Short captured the damage in stark terms: “They ruined 23 people’s lives, including mine.” The FBI says it uses national and international resources to investigate jewelry theft rings and supports a database maintained by the Jewelers Security Alliance. For Hernando County victims, the latest missed hearing means the long wait for final accountability just got longer.