Two nabbed in Rolex heist at Glendale Galleria

GLENDALE - A pre-Christmas shopping spree ended with the arrests of two men accused in a case of trying to buy $70,000 in Rolex watches from a Ben Bridge Jeweler at the Glendale Galleria using phony credit cards and stolen IDs, police said this morning.ht (Nazaryan is the one of the left. Vlasov is on the rig.)

Pavel V. Vlasov, 23, of Tarzana (the one in the photo to the right) and Zekar Nazaryan, 24, who gave police a P.O. box address, were arrested Tuesday at the Galleria's Ben Bridge Jeweler on Central Avenue in Glendale, said Glendale Police Officer John Balian. Both were being held on charges including burglary, ID theft, credit card theft, and forgery, Balian said. Bail for both men was set at $50,000.

The men allegedly used a ficticious identity to create at least three phony credit cards in the last several months and went on a shopping spree, Balian said.

The name on the cards matched the name on the driver's license, Balian said.

They allegedly tried to buy two Rolex watches worth a total of $70,000, including a $50,000 18 karat platinum Daytona, Balian said. They happened to be in the store returning another watch, worth $2,800, that they allegedly purchased earlier using the phony card, Balian said. They were arrested after a clerk became suspicious and notified mall security.

"They didn't get far," Balian said. "They got arrested."

Police were looking into the possibility that the suspects committed other similar heists around the area, Balian said.

"They were going for high-end, quick money items," Balian said.