Man Found Guilty in Home Invasion of Local Jeweler in Chesterfield

A man was found guilty March 13 in a Chesterfield home invasion in which he ambushed a local jeweler outside his home.

A jury found Richard J. Lynch, 48, of the first block of Beckewith Trail in O’Fallon, guilty of two counts of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree burglary and two counts of armed criminal action.

He is scheduled for sentencing at 9 a.m. April 12 at the St. Louis County Circuit Courthouse.

Lynch’s attorney, Stephen Reynolds, filed a motion Wednesday for acquittal on all counts or, alternatively, a new trial.

Police said Lynch waited outside the home of a local jeweler's condo near Woods Mill and Olive roads, about 10 p.m., Feb. 25, 2012 and put a gun to the man’s head. He also held the jeweler's wife hostage and robbed the victims of valuables.

Two young children were in a bedroom nearby.

Lynch had been on parole for six months after being released from the Missouri Department of Corrections, where he was serving a prison sentence for burglary.

For more crime information on Chesterfield Patch, see the following articles:

• Home Invasion Suspect Was Recently Sprung from Prison Police Said