Broward County man arrested, charged with Collier jewelry store theft

A Broward County man who Collier County detectives say stole Rolex watches from a North Naples jewelry store in October 2019 has been arrested and returned to Collier County to face a felony charge.

Andrew Strange, 34, of Coconut Creek was extradited to Collier County after he pawned the stolen Rolexes in Broward County and was shot in an apparent drug deal in Alabama, according to detectives with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

The CCSO says a man entered the Dunkin’s Diamonds at 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. When she turned her back to retrieve another item, the suspect grabbed the watches from the counter and ran from the store.

Investigators found fingerprints on the scene that they later identified as belonging to Strange. They also obtained surveillance video of the suspect and his vehicle, a review of which found that Strange matched the appearance of the suspect and had an identical vehicle registered in that name out of Indiana.

Witnesses identified Strange from photo lineups as the suspect in the theft, and further investigation found he pawned the two stolen Rolexes in Broward County. Strange was also identified as a suspect in numerous other Rolex thefts throughout Florida, before detectives say he left Florida and was shot and critically injured during an apparent drug deal gone wrong in Dothan, Alabama, on Oct. 24.

In November 2020, Strange was extradited to Broward County where he received a sentence of six years and four months in prison for charges of dealing in stolen property and defrauding a pawnbroker in connection with the stolen Rolexes. 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.