WESTPORT — A New York man accused of helping swipe more than $93,000 in jewelry from a local store has been taken into custody after a nearly year-long search.

On Dec. 13, Westport police detectives arrested Carlos Gonzalez, 48, of Queens, N.Y., at the Rikers Island prison in New York City, where he was being detained and charged him with first-degree larceny in connection with the local heist, which took place last Jan. 25.

Gonzalez was transported back to Police Department headquarters, where he was formally charged and held on $250,000 bond. He was scheduled to be arraigned the next day at state Superior Court in Stamford.

The theft took place at a Riverside Avenue jewelry store last Jan. 25, police said, when a man and woman — apparently coordinating the scheme by distracting the staff — asked to see several pieces of jewelry they were interested in purchasing.

After police launched an investigation into the incident Feb. 2, a review of the store’s surveillance video confirmed that the pair worked in tandem, according to the report.

Following an extensive investigation with other law-enforcement agencies, local police collaborated with New York City police to identify Gonzalez as the male who helped to carry out the theft. 

In March, police were issued a warrant to extradite Gonzalez from New York to face the local larceny charge, which was served on him this week at Rikers Island.

Gonzalez’s female partner has not yet been identified, police said.