By WNBC New York and msnbc.com staff reports
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A man suspected of killing a jeweler in the tony town of Westport, Conn., last month and stealing $300,000-worth of diamonds has been arrested in Spain, federal authorities said.
Andrew Robert Levene, 41, was charged Tuesday?with shooting and killing Yekutiel Zeevi, 65, at Zeevi?s office in a shopping center on Dec. 8. It was the first murder in Westport, former home of domestic guru Martha Stewart, since 1996.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed in Washington, D.C., and reported by the Connecticut Post, Levene met with Zeevi in the shop, located in a locked second-floor suite, pretending he was going to purchase several large diamonds he had arranged to buy earlier that?month.
Once inside, he pulled out a gun and shot Zeevi and a business associate, authorities said.
Levene fled the U.S. on a flight from Philadelphia to the Netherlands and then went on to Spain, authorities allege.? He was arrested by Spanish national police on Monday.?
U.S. Attorney for Connecticut David Fein said Levene will face federal murder and attempted murder charges.? It was not immediately clear when Levene might be sent back to Connecticut for trial or whether he had an attorney.
Zeevi's business associate, Ronen Konfino, 48, of New York City, survived the shooting and had been able to help police with their?investigation, the Connecticut Post reported.
Use of a firearm
Levene was formally charged with one count of federal murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of causing death through the use of a firearm and one count of interference with commerce through robbery, Fein said.
According to the Post, authorities said that Levene contacted Zeevi's business in early December and asked Zeevi if he could find diamonds between 2 and 3 carats in size and valued between $45,000 and $75,000. On Dec. 7, Zeevi and Konfino met Levene, who examined the diamonds, but told the owner he would have to "sleep on it" before making a purchase, according to the?documents.
The next day, six diamonds with a total value of approximately $300,000 were shown to Levene, who then pulled out a gun and shot both Zeevi and Konfino, according to the documents. Zeevi was pronounced dead after being taken to Norwalk Hospital, where Konfino was also treated and later?released.
Eileen Rosen, a friend of the family, told the Post that she was "thrilled that they found him; this is great news for the family. He was very close with his wife. Nothing can bring him back, her heart will ache forever, but I'm just so thrilled that they found him. Everybody in the community loves?him."
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