A series of gold chain thefts were reported throughout the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara, and Campbell. The announcement of the arrest of four suspects may put the fears of victims to rest. 19-year-old Tyler Richard, 30-year-old, Rudolf Green, 18-year-old, Jerrell Galloway, 19-year-old Lawrence Carter were arrested on warrants connecting them to more than 40 strong arm robberies, in which they pulled gold necklaces of their victims’ necks through the use of force and fear.
The San Jose Police Department has booked the four men into Santa Clara County Main Jail on multiple counts of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
According to Sgt. Heather Randol with the San Jose Police Department, “Over the last year, the Bay Area has seen a dramatic increase in Chain-Snatch robberies.” During many of these attacks the suspects would target women of South-Asian descent wearing noticeable gold chains.
The victims from several different cities were approached by the suspects when they were shopping or taking walks alone in a quiet area. That is when the men would approach the women and forcibly rip the gold jewelry from their necks. Randol said, “If the victim resisted, the suspect frequently struck and punched the victim until they could complete the robbery.” In several cases a firearm was brandished in order to commit the robbery without the victim resisting. Randol said, “After the robbery, the suspect would flee in a waiting vehicle.”
San Jose Police Robbery Detectives partnered with the Sunnyvale DPS, Santa Clara Police Department, and the Milpitas Police Department in order to learn the identity of the suspected gang that was stalking and then later attacking these female victims. Randol said, “With the cooperation of witnesses and examination videos from businesses, Detectives identified the four suspects listed above as taking part.”
A video was released by San Jose Police on YouTube showing a robbery in action. In this video, once the women in the foreground have parked, you can see an assault and robbery occurring in the background parking lot, before several people run in to help the victim while the assailant runs away.
Detectives are continuing to investigate other possible suspects involved in the robberies. After serving search warrants for each suspect, their properties were searched in order obtain possible evidence, including the gun and jewelry still in their possession. The Robbery Unit is hoping to find any other possible victims, and asks anyone with information contact their local police agency. The San Jose Police Department is also looking for owner of a possibly stolen necklace, believed to be stolen in East San Jose sometime in late November.
Persons with information regarding the above case are urged to contact Detective Drago or Detective Zanotto of the San Jose Police Department’s Robbery Unit at (408) 277-4166.
