Crazy video shows a masked mob storming a jewelry store in California and stealing an estimated $1 million in merchandise.
Security footage captures about 30 robbers dressed in black looting a store in broad daylight on Monday in San Ramon, located roughly 34 miles east of San Francisco, as reported by the New York Post. This robbery adds to a series of heists attributed to the same criminal group.
The footage shows the criminals using crowbars and pickaxes to smash open display cases, seizing jewelry, and then shooting through a security door to make their escape.
“Upon entering, they essentially took over the store, grabbing any jewelry available,” San Ramon Police Department Lt. Mike Pistello explained to ABC 7 News. He noted that the security door had “locked behind them,” a security measure added to the store following a 2023 robbery.
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Authorities suspect the heist was organized days in advance. The robbers allegedly drove six different vehicles and parked in a valet area about 100 feet from the store’s entrance. Police estimated at least 20 individuals participated, yet witnesses recounted seeing 30 people.
Pistello mentioned that investigators managed to capture footage of the suspects fleeing thanks to a drone, which was funded by a 2023 organized retail theft grant.
“It shows all the suspects’ vehicles, as well as all the suspects leaving and entering their cars to leave,” Pistello said.
Seven suspects, one of whom is a juvenile, have been arrested during two separate raids in Oakland and Dublin, California. According to police, the arrested individuals, aged between 17 and 31, are all from Oakland and are believed to be connected to similar criminal activities throughout the Bay Area, as stated in the report.
Two firearms and some of the stolen jewelry believed to have been dropped or discarded during the escape have been recovered, while several of the vehicles used in the robbery were reported stolen, according to police.
“This is not their first time doing something like this,” Pistello said. “This is not something that happens a lot in San Ramon. We’re doing our best to follow up on every lead possible.”
