Gruesome surveillance footage shows the moment a gang of thugs armed with hammers stole more than $ 110,000 in jewelry from a California mall.
Nine men stormed a San Jose shopping center on January 3 and began smashing glass windows in three stores as terrified employees ran for safety.
Thieves, whose faces were obscured by masks and hoodies, stole gold necklaces and other valuables; they were on the run on Monday.
It was the latest in a series of robbery attacks across California, which critics blame on justice reform initiatives and soft approaches to crime.
Last week’s brazen robbery – which police called an “armed robbery” – occurred in Santa Clara County, where District Attorney Jeff Rosen is a “nationally recognized leader in criminal justice reform, ” according to his online biography.
Eric Orozco – whose Heart of Gold store was targeted in the heist – said he lost between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000 in merchandise in the theft.
The enraged businessman is now joining the chorus of Californians demanding tougher penalties for the state’s criminals.
Pictured: A group of men use sledgehammers to attempt to open a storefront containing jewelry during a January 3 mall robbery in San Jose, Calif.
Orozco, who has spent a decade building his business, said being robbed was an eye-opening experience.
“I spoke to the police and that’s when I learned they’re too soft,” Orozco told DailyMail.com. “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 theft or damage, they are going to get too short a sentence and they are going to be out and fly again.
“It was just mind blowing. They let me know that they will let these guys come and steal from me and other stores so they can rack up the number of thefts [needed to prosecute]. ‘
Orozco’s father sustained a head injury during the theft after he and another man chased the thieves away.
Eric Orozco, whose Heart of Gold store was targeted in the heist, said he lost between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000 in merchandise in the theft.
Pictured: Display cases with gold necklaces in Heart of Gold were smashed and empty after the breakage
At nearby Joyeria Guerro, employees heard thieves yelling “get down” before raiding the store and stealing around $ 10,000 worth of jewelry, owner Rocio Gomez told the Mercury News.
“They heard the men say, ‘Close the doors, put everything inside! “And that’s when we started screaming,” she said.
San Jose Police Department spokesman Sergeant Christian Camarillo said he had “nothing else to share” on the case on Monday, but told DailyMail.com the culprits will face felony charges if arrested.
His colleague Steve Aponte described the crime as “robbery”.
“A robbery is very different from a standard smash-and-grab or what we’ve seen recently with robberies in shopping malls,” Aponte told NBC Bay Area. “These individuals broke into the store. And saying heist, they asked everyone to get down.
They forced those present, including the staff members, to do their will. And in doing so, they were able to take over, break the glass, take the things they wanted to take.
The criminals involved are said to have locked up the same mall a few days before the attack and, at one point, tried to rush through the doors, only to be locked by staff.
The incident reportedly left workers there worried and nervous, their worst fears coming true soon after.
Store workers heard thieves yelling “get down” before raiding the store and stealing about $ 10,000 worth of jewelry
Police said the culprits will face felony charges if caught; they stayed on the run Monday
Overall, violent crime in San Jose increased 11% in San Jose year over year through November, according to department data.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is a supporter of bail reform
Thefts increased 5.6%, aggravated assaults increased by 11% and rape by 28%. Homicides were down 21% year-on-year.
The department reported a seven percent decrease in property crimes, with vehicle thefts down 8.3 percent and burglaries down 4.8 percent.
Rosen, the county’s top prosecutor, sponsored and successfully lobbied for California’s Money Bail Reform Act, which changed the state’s pre-trial release system from a release system to cash to a risk system.
He was one of three district attorneys elected to approve a proposed reform of California’s “three strike law”, which reduces jail terms for inmates serving life sentences for crimes ” non-violent ”third strike.
He also supports diversion programs for non-violent offenders, but a spokesperson for his office said the criminals responsible for last week’s jewelry theft would not be eligible for the program because their crimes were felonies.
Overall, violent crime in San Jose increased 11% in San Jose year over year through November, according to department data. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is a supporter of bail reform. Thefts increased 5.6%, aggravated assaults increased by 11% and rape by 28%. Homicides were down 21% year-on-year.
Overall, violent crime in San Jose increased 11% in San Jose year over year through November, according to department data.
Thefts increased 5.6%, aggravated assaults increased by 11% and rape by 28%. Homicides were down 21% year-on-year.
In nearby San Francisco, vehicle break-ins have become so common over the past year that some desperate car owners have decided to leave their trunks open to prevent windows from being smashed by thieves.
A photo taken last month in San Francisco showed two SUVs parked side by side with their trunks ajar and no one inside the vehicles.
A similar trend was also seen in Oakland, which has seen an increase in burglaries and auto thefts as part of a larger crime spree that has engulfed the Bay Area, with homicides, assaults and thefts that soar.
The Bay Area has seen a spate of armed robberies over the past year, a trend that accelerated after a group of thieves stole at least $ 150,000 in designer handbags from a Palo Alto Nieman Marcus.
A map shows the locations of some of the major armed robberies that have recently taken place in California
The situation became so dire throughout the year that it prompted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to denounce the trend of looting in her hometown of San Francisco as “absolutely outrageous.”
Pelosi denounced what she called an “attitude of anarchy” in the country as mobs of thieves targeted luxury boutiques and large retailers in San Francisco as well as other parts of California and the country .
In southern California, Los Angeles police arrested 14 people last November in connection with 11 armed robberies at stores, where nearly $ 340,000 in merchandise was stolen.
A Nordstrom in Los Angeles, a Lululemon in Studio City, a store in the Fairfax neighborhood and a CVS pharmacy in South Los Angeles were among the affected stores.
However, due to the county’s bail policy, the suspects were all released within hours of being handcuffed.
