Another string of gold-chain strong-arm robberies has hit Silicon Valley – this time in Santa Clara – where a suspect has been ripping off jewelry from the necks of women of Asian Indian Descent, sometimes taking their wallets too, before running off.
Santa Clara police this week said there were "multiple" robberies in September near Bing Drive at Homestead Road, El Camino Real at Lawrence Expressway and Monroe Street at Los Padres Boulevard. The victims were predominantly women from India, who traditionally wear gold jewelry in their daily affairs, usually bought for them on their wedding day.
Similar robberies have occurred in Fremont and Sunnyvale, two other cities with lots of residents from the Indian subcontinent. Some suspect descriptions in the cities where the crimes have been reported have been similar. Other descriptions have showed a variation in height, age and ethnicity. Santa Clara and Sunnyvale police agencies are now working together, on the assumption that at least some of the crimes may be related.
Gold on Wednesday was selling for $1,217 an ounce.
“Thankfully, nobody has been hurt,” Santa Clara Police Chief Michael J. Sellers said in a statement, noting “it is a very traumatic experience for the victims.”
In August 2013, at least 10 women of Asian Indian descent in Sunnyvale had necklaces snatched from their necks over a span of a few months. At least three were in the city's Ponderosa Park. In that case, the suspect was described as an African-American man, about 30 to 40 years old and standing 6 feet tall. Last month, Sunnyvale police said there were 15 more chain-snatch robberies reported since May.
In October 2013, Fremont police were looking for a white or Hispanic man in his early 20s and close faded sides, along with a Latina woman about 17 to 25 years old, who allegedly ripped the gold necklace off a 70-year-old woman shopping at Wal-Mart.
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In Santa Clara, the suspect in each case was described as a man police believe is about 19 to 24 years old and stands between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet tall. Sometimes, witnesses said, he pulled out a black handgun.
NBC Bay Area's Bob Redell contributed this report.
