A 34-year-old man who has been on the run after detectives say he stole Rolex watches from a North Naples jewelry store in October 2019 has been apprehended and returned to Collier County to face a felony charge.
Andrew Strange of Coconut Creek was extradited to Collier County following a crime odyssey that took him to Broward County where he pawned the stolen Rolexes and Alabama where he was shot in an apparent drug deal.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office detectives said a man entered Dunkin’s Diamonds, 8120 Strada Place, at 5:15 p.m. on Oct. 10, 2019 and asked to look at two Rolex watches. The clerk set the watches, valued at approximately $10,000 each, on the counter. The clerk turned her back to retrieve another item. The suspect grabbed the watches from the counter and fled the store to a vehicle.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene investigators processed the scene for evidence and recovered latent fingerprints. CCSO’s Identification Section later identified the prints as belonging to Strange.
CCSO detectives also obtained surveillance video of the suspect and his vehicle. Detectives reviewed the video and found Strange matched the appearance of the suspect and had a vehicle registered in his name out of Indiana that was identical to the one shown on surveillance video.
Witnesses identified Strange from photo lineups as the suspect in the theft.
Further investigation by detectives found Strange pawned the two stolen Rolexes in Broward County. Strange was also identified as a suspect in numerous other Rolex thefts throughout Florida, according to detectives.
During their investigation, detectives also found that Strange had already left Florida and had been shot during an apparent drug deal gone bad in Dothan, Ala. on Oct. 24. Strange suffered critical injuries in the shooting.
In November 2020, Strange was extradited to Broward County where he received a sentence of six years and four months in prison for dealing in stolen property and defrauding a pawnbroker in connection with the stolen Rolexes from Collier County.
Strange was extradited to Collier on Dec. 30, 2020, on a local warrant charging him with grand theft $20,000-$100,000. He is currently being held in the Naples Jail Center on $100,000 bond.
