Armed employees at a Sunnyvale jewelry store foiled another attempted smash-and-grab robbery less than a week before police arrested five men for similar crimes.
On the afternoon of July 18, surveillance footage captured video of approximately 10 would-be thieves descending on Nijjar Jewelers, 1024 E. El Camino Real in Sunnyvale. Just five days later, on July 23, police arrested five men.
The men — Isaiah Alapati, Isaiah Iosia, Jaiden Desouza, all 19, Tyler Ramirez, 33, Jeremy Perez, 30 — face attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle charges. Desouza is from Oakland. The others are from San Francisco.
Capt. Jaromy Lima, with Sunnyvale police, wrote in an email that the investigation is ongoing and police do not yet know whether the men were involved in the attempted robbery at Nijjar Jewelers.
The gang in the July 18 attempt wore dark clothing, following the playbook of two previous robbery attempts in the same area, ramming a stolen Honda Civic into the front of the store. Store employees, armed with legally owned handguns, confronted the suspects, causing them to flee in a Honda Accord.
Then, on the afternoon of July 23, police spotted an Acura SUV matching the description of a vehicle stolen in Oakland near Lawrence Expressway and Duane Court, according to a press release from the Sunnyvale Police Officers Association. Several other “suspicious” vehicles accompanied the SUV.
Around the same time, the owner of a jewelry store on the 1000 block of East El Camino Real called dispatch to report a red Honda Accord with three to four men inside that had backed up in front of the store.
The car was “apparently” preparing to ram the building — as in the other instances — but the culprits “likely noticed employees calling 911 and were deterred by the heavy police presence,” according to the union press release.
“Based on the suspects’ actions and known patterns, this was clearly an attempted takeover,” according to the union release.
Police saturated the El Camino Real corridor and attempted a traffic stop near El Camino Real and Wolfe Road. However, the driver fled, and a chase ensued.
Following the car chase, the men got out of the car, fleeing on foot near the 1300 block of Flicker Avenue. With the assistance of K-9 and drone units, Sunnyvale police and the Santa Clara Police Department officers conducted a yard-by-yard search near Fremont Avenue and Rembrandt Drive, locating and arresting the five suspects.
Lima wrote that police have no reason to believe the suspects involved in the July 18 attempt were armed.
For “safety and security reasons,” Lima wrote that department policy is to not disclose how many armed employees confronted the suspects. So, whether the “employees” in question were private security or armed citizens was not publicly available information.
While the car and the storefront in the July 18 incident were both significantly damaged, no injuries were reported and no shots were fired, according to police.
Roughly 40 minutes after the July 18 attempt, police recovered the getaway car two blocks away in a residential neighborhood. Police later determined that both cars were stolen.
The attempt is the third such operation in Sunnyvale in the past three months.
In April, the husband of the owner of Priya, 895 E. El Camino Real, brandished a handgun during a similar attempt, causing the would-be thieves to flee.
Earlier this month, thieves made off with an undisclosed amount of jewelry at Manisha Jewelers, 1053 E. El Camino Real, swarming the store with hammers, smashing display cases and absconding within 90 seconds, according to surveillance footage.
“We are seeing an increase in organized retail crime groups statewide,” Lima wrote. “These groups are often organized crews that target high-value merchandise, and they frequently use similar methods. We are actively working with regional and state partners to determine whether specific incidents are connected and to obtain a resolution.”
Following the arrest, police recovered four stolen vehicles linked to the convey, some containing sledgehammers, according to the union release.
All the stores are Indian-owned and located on El Camino Real.
However, Lima wrote that thieves likely chose the locations simply because of the high density of businesses along the corridor. Police have no evidence that thieves are targeting the businesses for anything other than the high-value gold jewelry they sell, which, Lima wrote, is “attractive to these types of cases.”
If vehicle owners are concerned about theft, police encourage them to use GPS tracking devices or other anti-theft measures.
“These groups often steal common mid-size sedans, frequently neutral-colored Hondas, because they’re easy to steal and blend in with traffic,” Lima wrote. “The vehicles are typically stolen just hours or days before the crime.”
Further, police also encourage business owners to invest in high-quality surveillance systems, reinforced entry points and alarm systems. Transitioning to appointment-only business models or using “buzz-in” entry systems can help deter these types of crimes, Lima wrote.
Police will continue to work closely with store owners to provide crime prevention recommendations. They ask anyone with information about the incident to contact Det. E. Rosette at (408) 730-7110.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
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