Suspects possibly connected to Sunnyvale smash-and-grab jewelry store robberies arrested, police say
Five people possibly connected to recent smash-and-grab robberies at Sunnyvale jewelry stores were arrested on Wednesday, authorities said.
The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety that officers were alerted on Wednesday afternoon about two stolen vehicles in the area of Lawrence Expressway and U.S. Highway 101. Recent jewelry store robberies and attempted robberies in Sunnyvale and other Bay Area cities involved stolen vehicles being rammed into the stores to gain entry and as getaway vehicles. In some of the incidents, the robbers were thwarted by armed store employees.
The DPS said officers began looking for the two stolen vehicles because of those incidents and also alerted nearby jewelry store businesses of possible suspicious activity. Several incidents have happened at jewelry stores along a stretch of El Camino Real in Sunnyvale between Wolfe Road and Lawrence Expressway.
At about 2:50 p.m., officers located a vehicle matching the description of one of the stolen vehicles and tried to pull it over in the area of El Camino Real and Wolfe Road; however, the vehicle fled, and officers gave chase, the DPS said. The vehicle eventually stopped about six blocks away in the area of Fremont Avenue and Rembrandt Drive, where five suspects exited the vehicle and ran off.
With the help of the Santa Clara Police Department, DPS officers searched the surrounding neighborhoods and eventually found and arrested all five suspects. They were identified as Isaiah Alapati, 19, of San Francisco/Daly City; Tyler Ramirez, 33, of San Francisco/Indio; Jaiden Desouza, 19, of Oakland; Jeremy Perez, 30, of San Francisco/Daly City; and Isaiah Iosia, 19, of San Francisco.
According to the DPS, officers discovered the vehicle was stolen, had been in the area of a jewelry store, and had been involved in a conspiracy to commit a robbery.
The five suspects face charges of attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, stolen vehicle possession, reckless evasion, resisting arrest, possession of burglary tools, and possession of stolen property.
A DPS spokesman told CBS News Bay Area that the suspects were not in possession of any stolen merchandise from the recent jewelry store robberies and investigators are still determining any possible connection to those crimes.
"Unfortunately, although the circumstances and mode of operation are very similar in all cases, we do not have factual evidence at this time to connect yesterday's suspects with the other Sunnyvale or other cities' cases," said DPS Capt. Jeromy Lima.
Anyone with information regarding the case was asked to contact Detective Rosette at 408-730-7110.
