Atlanta is talking about alleged jewelry thefts — and making the rest of the country talk about them.
Atlanta native Abigail Lee Kemp, 24, recently gained national attention when police accused her of stealing $4 million worth of jewelry, over multiple months, in five Southeastern states.
Her arrest drew headlines in People, the New York Daily News and others. (Authorities also arrested Lewis Jones III and accused him of being Kemp's accomplice).
But she isn't the first person accused in notable Georgia jewelry thefts. Here's a look at a few others:
Police seemed to be dealing with an ordinary shoplifting incident when they arrested 85-year-old Doris Payne in October and accused her of walking out of the Christian Dior store inside Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza with $690 earrings stuffed in her pocket.
But it wasn't the first time Payne had faced a jewelry theft accusation, authorities said. Or the second.
Payne was also wanted in North Carolina, where she's accused of stealing a $32,000 David Yurman engagement ring in July.
She served two years in prison for a 2011 California theft, according to CNBC.com. Authorities also allege that the elderly woman has been stealing high-end jewelry around the world for more than 50 years.
Payne has been arrested about 20 times, according to CNBC.com, and there's even a documentary based on her: "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne."
Investigators said that Blane David Nordahl had a passion for silver and a talent for sneaking around.
The 51-year-old "silver bandit" allegedly cut out window panes and entered homes of sleeping residents to steal sterling silver from homes in Buckhead, Athens and other places around the Southeast, according to police.
Authorities believe Nordahl stole more than $4 million worth of silver during more than 70 burglaries in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. He became so infamous that an Atlanta detective headed a task force just to search for him.
Nordahl was arrested in Florida in 2013 — but not before his infamy (and wildly speculative Wikipedia page) grew
It's unclear yet whether the unidentified man who police allege stole about $16,000 worth of jewelry from Diamonds & Such Tuesday will end up on lists with names such as Kemp, Payne and Nordahl.
But, according to police, he is bold.
Police said a surveillance camera caught a man looking at display cases at the Scott Antique Market show at the Atlanta Expo Center on Jan. 9. Police allege that he leaned over some tables as though he were looking at the jewelry — then, in the middle of the crowd, allegedly opened the case and tucked the bottom row of necklaces into his jacket before leaving.
Police believe the same man may have stolen items from past jewelry shows at the same venue, as well as the Lakewood Antique Show.
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