Jewelry

Before Roger Overbey closed up his watch and jewelry repair shop at the Big Apple Shopping Bazaar west of Delray Beach, his customers were suspicious.

Each would come in with a watch that needed adjustments, a necklace needing new stones or some other job. Over and over, the customers would call or return to the shop to check on their items. Each time, Overbey gave another excuse why it wasn’t ready, according to reports released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office this week

The watch was in Miami. The piece needed was on back order. Another item needed to be ordered from Switzerland.

Many customers didn’t go to authorities until authorities asked for them to come forward.

Overbey, 64, is being held at the Palm Beach County jail on $32,000 bail on various charges of theft and selling stolen items. Nearly every person who came forward saw a story either in The Palm Beach Post or on a local newscast. In April, the sheriff’s office said it was looking for a man who allegedly sold items his customers brought to him to be fixed.

See who’s been booked into the Palm Beach County Jail

Some cases go back as far as 2012. Nearly all the cases involved women, and the youngest victim to come forward was 69 years old. Only two of the items reportedly stolen were found at pawnshops and returned, according to the reports.

Before closing in December, Overbey owned Overbey & Son Watch & Jewelry Repair at the Big Apple Shopping Bazaar on the 5200 block of West Atlantic Avenue, just west of Military Trail.

A now-79-year-old woman called the sheriff’s office in April after seeing the article about Overbey and told deputies her story:

She brought him her 14-karat gold watch with a diamond face, worth $3,000. He told her — like many others, investigators found out — that the watch “needed a new movement.” For weeks she went back, and he told her it wasn’t ready. Then, he told her it was in a vault in Miami and to return in a week, as well as to call a phone number he gave her. When she called, the phone number was disconnected.

A now-85-year-old woman told investigators she brought Overbey a diamond-encrusted necklace with her initials to have the diamonds made larger, but the necklace disappeared. The sheriff’s office tracked that necklace to a pawnshop.

An 80-year-old woman said she took her daughter’s rose, white and yellow gold bracelet to Overbey and it was never returned. She went to his shop, but noticed he had closed down and didn’t leave a forwarding address.

A 69-year-old woman dropped off a $8,700 watch with Overbey and, like the past customers, he told her the parts were still on order or that the watch was in Miami. After months, she contacted Overbey’s son, who explained the situation to her.

Overbey does not appear to have a criminal history in Palm Beach County, according to court records.