A group entered a San Jose jewelry store on January 3, smashing display cases with hammers and taking jewelry before fleeing, law enforcement said.
Authorities said the incident happened at approximately 3:30 p.m. at the Credit Jewelers in the La Placita Tropicana shopping center located at Story and King roads in California, NBC Bay Area reported.
Officers noted approximately eight to ten individuals were involved in what happened.
“A takeover robbery is very different from a standard smash-and-grab or what we’ve seen recently with retail mall thefts,” San Jose police Officer Steve Aponte explained:
These individuals actually forced their way into the store. And by saying takeover robbery, they demanded everybody to get on the ground. They forced people who were present, including staff members, to do their will. And in doing so, they were able to take over, break the glass, take away the stuff that they wanted to take.
The investigation was underway, according to the January 5 NBC report.
Video footage showed several individuals, wielding large hammers, breaking the glass cases.
Eric Orozco’s shop, Heart of Gold, was also targeted, and he said he lost between $50,000 and $100,000 of merchandise, according to the Daily Mail.
The businessman has since joined Californians who want stricter punishment for criminals in the state.
“I talked to police and this is where I learned they’re too soft,” Orozco told the outlet.
“The police told me, ‘we kind of have to let the thieves keep stealing because once they get to court, if there hasn’t been enough stealing or damage, they’re going to get too short of a sentence and they’re going to be out and stealing again,'” he said.
“That was just mind blowing. They’re letting me know they’re going to let these guys come and rob me and other stores so they can rack up the amount of theft [needed to prosecute],” he continued.
Orozco’s father suffered a head injury during the incident when he and another individual chased the suspects away.
On what appeared to be Orozco’s social media profile, he shared video footage of the smashed cases, writing, “We told the police they were coming. We told the owner of the building they were coming. We saw them scoping the place.”
“My store Heart of Gold even closed for a week to try to avoid it,” the post read.
In December, California Democrats said the crime surge in the state must end and conceded police were needed to accomplish the task.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.