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Tag: Smash and Grab Robberies

  • Family running San Jose jewelry store tries to recover after smash-and-grab, brutal assault

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    For the family that runs Kim Hung Jewelry in San Jose, Sep. 5 is a day they’ll never forget.

    What was once a thriving shop now sits boarded up, a reminder of the smash-and-grab robbery that changed everything. The family said 10 people stormed their San Jose store, after a stolen Jeep rammed into the storefront.

    Surveillance video shows the suspects smashing display cases and grabbing whatever they could before fleeing. During the chaos, the family’s 88-year-old uncle, the man who built and ran the business, was shoved to the ground.

    “It’s very sudden, and it’s very panicked,” said one family member, who agreed to speak but asked not to share her name. “You cannot imagine this happening to you.”

    Since then, the store has been closed its entrance covered with plywood and steel gates. The family said they’re still paying rent and expenses while they wait for the insurance process to move forward.

    “The business is closed. But we still pay rent. We still pay for everything in the store. You can’t not pay, right?” she said.

    Her uncle remains at home recovering. Family members have urged him not to return once the shop reopens, worried the trauma runs deeper than the visible damage.

    “His health is getting better, but he’s still traumatized,” she said.

    As for the investigation, San Jose police say they’ve made progress. On Oct. 3, seven people between the ages of 18 and 23 were arrested from across the Bay Area, including Dublin, Pacifica, San Jose, and Antioch. This week, an eighth suspect was arrested in Oakland.

    (Clockwise from top left) Angel Herrera, Toddisha Mayfield, Zakhari Blue-Gordon, Tom Donegan, Jacques Samuel, Cisco Lutu, Amari Green and Julian Gacutan, who are suspected in a Sep. 5, 2025 smash-and-grab robbery at Kim Hung Jewelry in San Jose.

    San Jose Police Department


    Police said they are still searching for at least two more suspects connected to the case.

    For the family, the arrests bring only limited comfort. The store remains shuttered… the damage still visible, the pain still raw.

    “When I look at it, I just get more sad,” she said. “I get more frustrated, and I just ask, why?”

    The family says their hope is to reopen in the next few months. Until then, they say they’ll keep speaking out not for attention, but to remind others that even when the cameras leave and the crime tape comes down, the healing takes much longer.

    “So please,” she said. “Don’t do it. Go to school. Have a successful life. This is not a life.”

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  • 8th suspect arrested in San Jose jewelry store smash-and-grab

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    An eighth suspect has been arrested in connection with a smash-and-grab robbery at a San Jose jewelry store that left the store’s elderly owner injured, authorities announced Thursday.

    According to San Jose police, detectives identified 19-year-old Julian Gacutan of South San Francisco as a suspect in the Sep. 5 robbery at Kim Hung Jewelry on Aborn Road. Warrants for his arrest and a search warrant for his home were obtained.

    With the assistance of the San Ramon Police Department, Gacutan was arrested in Oakland on Oct. 3 without incident.

    Julian Gacutan, a suspect in a Sep. 5, 2025 smash-and-grab robbery at Kim Hung Jewelry in San Jose, was arrested in Oakland on Oct. 3, 2025.

    San Jose Police Department


    “I said it before and I’ll say it again: hiding behind a mask in a crowd of thugs will not shield you from accountability,” San Jose assistant police chief Brian Shab said in a statement. “This additional arrest proves that your temporary flight from justice won’t stop us from finding you and arresting you.”

    According to officers, at least 10 people forced entry into the jewelry store by ramming a vehicle through the front door. Once inside, a suspect brandished a firearm at a man, while an elderly man was violently assaulted.

    The elderly victim, identified as the store’s 88-year-old owner, suffered a stroke during the incident. He was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries and has since returned home to recover.

    Kim Hung Jewelry Robbery

    Kim Hung Jewelry


    Police said the suspects stole thousands of dollars’ worth of items before leaving the scene in multiple vehicles.

    “This was not just an attack on a hardworking family. It was an attack on a legacy business that represents the American dream,” Shab said during an Oct. 3 news conference announcing arrests in the case.  

    At the time, police said seven suspects were arrested during an operation that involved more than 100 officers from multiple agencies and four different SWAT teams. Arrests were made in communities throughout the region, including Dublin, Pacifica, San Leandro, San Jose, Manteca and Antioch.

    san-jose-jewelry-smash-and-grab-suspects-100325.jpg

    (Clockwise from top left) Angel Herrera, Toddisha Mayfield, Zakhari Blue-Gordon, Tom Donegan, Jacques Samuel, Cisco Lutu and Amari Green, who are suspected in a Sep. 5, 2025 smash-and-grab robbery at Kim Hung Jewelry in San Jose.

    San Jose Police Department


    The previously arrested suspects are identified as 21-year-old Angel Herrera of Pacifica, 31-year-old Toddisha Mayfield of San Leandro, 23-year-old Zakhari Blue-Gordon of East Palo Alto, 19-year-old Tom Donegan of Manteca, 18-year-old Jacques Samuel of San Francisco, 18-year-old Cisco Luti of South San Francisco and 21-year-old Amari Green of San Francisco.

    “With this latest arrest, we are one step closer to ensuring every single person involved in this cowardly crime faces the consequences of their actions,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said Thursday.

    All suspects have been booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for robbery.

    Tim Fang

    Tim Fang is a digital producer at CBS Bay Area. A Bay Area native, Tim has been a part of the CBS Bay Area newsroom for more than two decades and joined the digital staff in 2006.

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    Tim Fang

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  • 7 arrested after weekend smash-and-grab at Bay Area mall

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    CBS News Live



    CBS News Bay Area

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    Seven people, six of whom are under the age of 18, were arrested following a smash-and-grab burglary at a shopping mall in the Bay Area over the weekend, police said.

    According to the Concord Police Department, officers were called to the Sun Valley Mall around 3:50 a.m. Sunday after security reported a burglary in progress. Police said a “large group” of suspects had forced entry into the mall through glass doors.

    A photo shared by officers showed a shattered glass door on the floor of the mall.

    concord-sun-valley-mall-smash-and-grab-100525.jpg

    Scene of a smash-and-grab robbery at Sun Valley Mall in Concord on Oct. 5, 2025.

    Concord Police Department


    When officers arrived, they found suspects leaving the mall. Four of the suspects got into a vehicle and led officers on a brief pursuit.

    Police said the driver lost control and crashed the vehicle before fleeing on foot. The three people left behind in the vehicle were taken into custody.

    The driver was found a short distance away, police said, hiding in bushes. He was taken into custody.

    No injuries from the crash were reported.

    Three suspects who were left behind at the mall were also taken into custody. According to police, one of the suspects was found with a firearm with modifications that made it an assault weapon.

    In a statement Sunday, police said there are no outstanding suspects and that those arrested are facing an “extensive list” of charges.

    The six juvenile suspects, whose names are not being released due to their ages, were booked into the Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall. Police said the youths are residents of San Pablo and Richmond.

    Police identified the adult suspect as 18-year-old Marcos Ramirez-Castro of Richmond. Ramirez-Castro was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility.

    Tim Fang

    Tim Fang is a digital producer at CBS Bay Area. A Bay Area native, Tim has been a part of the CBS Bay Area newsroom for more than two decades and joined the digital staff in 2006.

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    Tim Fang

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  • U.S. cities, retailers boost security as crime worries grow among potential shoppers

    U.S. cities, retailers boost security as crime worries grow among potential shoppers

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    Los Angeles — A flash mob of at least 17 masked thieves who pushed past holiday shoppers to rob a Nike store Sunday night near Los Angeles is exactly the kind of crime cities across the country are trying to crack down on this holiday season.

    After a series of thefts scared away shoppers and shut down stores, San Francisco launched the Safe Shopper Initiative that involves beefing up police patrols to ease jitters.

    The same goes for Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater, Florida, a suburb of Miami, where K-9s and extra officers will be more visible.

    “You’re going to be probably the safest you could be anywhere, any place in the world,” Sweetwater’s mayor, Jose “Pepe” Diaz, said. 

    This comes as a new annual Gallup poll on personal safety shows more Americans fear becoming victims of a crime, with 40% of respondents to the poll saying they were afraid to walk alone at night within a mile of their home, the highest such number in the poll since 1993. Fifty percent of respondents feared getting their car stolen, and 17% said they avoid going to the mall.

    On Monday, CBS News accompanied authorities as they carried out a raid in L.A., arresting suspected robbers accused of being involved in an organized shoplifting ring that targeted drug stores like CVS and Walgreens throughout California.

    Even in posh Beverly Hills, officials said they are determined to keep shoppers safe. Police drones are now in the air 14-hours a day after a brazen daylight attack on a jewelry store in March of 2022 in which the suspects used crowbars and axes. Beverly Hills police officers are also monitoring 2,500 security cameras in the city.

    “We’ve created this real-time watch center where all of the city cameras can be watched in a single place,” Beverly Hills Mayor Dr. Julian Gold told CBS News, adding that he believes the drones and security cameras have led to a decrease in crime, while helping shoppers and residents feel safer.

    “If we don’t do something soon, our stores are going to be out of business,” said Aaron Jones, president and CEO of International Protective Service, which provides armed guards to commercial businesses nationwide. He says the number of requests for security guards has tripled since 2020.

    “They realize that they have to do something to protect people,” Jones said.

    In addition to extra security, some retailers are experimenting with new store layouts to help reduce blind spots and deter shoplifters. It’s estimated U.S. retailers lost a record $112 billion dollars in stolen merchandise in 2022, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation. 

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