Video: 8 armed thugs smash Oakland jewelry store's display cases, steal nearly all items in brazen, devastating daytime heist



Eight armed individuals were caught on surveillance video smashing the display cases of an Oakland jewelry store this week and making off with almost all of the family-owned business' inventory in a brutal, devastating heist that took place in broad daylight.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

KGO-TV called the crime in the city's Chinatown neighborhood "one of the most brazen, armed daytime robberies we've ever seen."

Image source: YouTube screenshot

What are the details?

Surveillance video shows 69-year-old mother Diane ducking for cover and screaming for help as the robbers — wearing black masks and clothing and armed with guns and hammers — enter Phuong Jewelry around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, KGO said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The crooks ended up smashing nearly all the display cases and ransacking the business, the station said.

With no security guard on duty, KGO said Diane's 76-year-old husband is seen on the clip coming out from the back of the store armed with a gun of his own, which apparently convinced the crooks to leave.

"If he hadn't done that, they would have kept going," their son Tony Trinh told the station, adding that the crooks stole an estimated 85-90% of the store's inventory.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

"My mom was devastated, and my dad was broken," Trinh told KGO.

The station said the robbery was by far the worst Phuong Jewelry has suffered in more than 40 years of operation.

"We've been robbed a few times before but not at this level of brazen magnitude," Trinh explained to KGO. "Eight individuals and two getaway cars and guns drawn. I thought, 'Did my mother get shot? Did my father get shot? Did any of our staff or community members?'"

Bad news keeps coming

Due to the rising cost of premiums, the family let the store's business insurance lapse, the station said.

"It's rough," Trinh told KGO. "My mom is the leader of the pack. When she suffers, I suffer; the same thing from her."

Will Phuong Jewelry stay in business? Trinh replied to the station that "we would love to, but with the environment and how tough it's been, we don't know yet."

KGO reported that Diane indicated she would be back to work on Friday.

The Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council has started a GoFundMe to help the family business recoup its losses, the station said, adding that Oakland police said the investigation is ongoing, and they want those with information to come forward.

8 armed suspects clear out Oakland Chinatown jewelry store - EXCLUSIVE youtu.be

More of the same in Oakland

Oakland has made more than a few headlines for, among other things, its rampant crime. Some examples:

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Video: Armed thugs who rush into jewelry store have fast change of heart when worker with gun sends them some smoke



A pair of armed, masked men caught on surveillance video rushing into a jewelry store in Oakland, California, on Monday morning quickly changed their minds when a store worker pulled out his own gun and began firing.

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What are the details?

The failed caper took place at MSM Jewelry near 41st Avenue and International Boulevard in the city's Fruitvale neighborhood around 10 a.m., KTVU-TV reported.

The worker, who didn't want to be identified, told the station he saw a Toyota Camry pull up on the wrong side of the street outside his shop: "I saw two guys creeping up really quick, so I was like, 'It's a robbery.'"

KTVU said the two men came inside the store with guns drawn — but the worker told the station he fired first, using his 9mm handgun.

"They told me, 'Don't move, or we'll shoot.' So I started shooting at them because they had the guns pointed at me," the worker recalled to the station. "They were shooting back. It was going back and forth for like 20 seconds."

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The worker told KTVU the would-be robbers fired about 20 shots at him. One of them used a .40-caliber handgun with a drum magazine, while the other used a 9mm with an extended magazine — both of which are illegal, the station said.

"And then I ducked ... and then I waited to see him like scrambling. The other guy was still shooting. And then I popped my head out and shot about seven more," the worker added to KTVU.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

One of the crooks left a shoe behind in his haste to escape the worker's gunfire — but the worker told the station he may have shot that robber in the shoulder.

What's more, KTVU said that same crook got hit by the driver of his getaway car.

'I have more'

Police took a report, and officers did not cite or arrest the worker, the station reported.

"They said, ‘You did the right thing.’ They said, ‘You followed — you did everything right,'" the worker recounted to KTVU, adding that police took his guns until the completion of their investigation.

The worker then gave the station a priceless add-on regarding the guns at his disposal: "I have more."

In addition, he gave the robbers a message through KTVU: "If you come back again, try to do the same thing, we're just going to defend ourselves. At this point, you have to."

Oakland jewelry store clerk gets in shootout with would-be robbers youtu.be

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NYC jewelry store worker fights back when robbers threaten to kill him if he doesn't open display case. He survives, but crooks get away with $1K in rings.



A New York City jewelry store worker managed to escape injury after he fought back against robbers who threatened to shoot him if he didn't open a display case last week.

The robbers, however, got away with rings valued at $1,000 — and they both changed clothes during their getaway in an effort to evade capture.

What are the details?

Police on Tuesday said the pair watched Ray’s Midtown Jewelry on Lexington Avenue near East 45th Street for about half an hour before entering the store, the New York Daily News reported. Crime Stoppers said it all went down around 5:20 p.m. Jan. 4.

One of the robbers racked his gun several times and threatened to shoot the 53-year-old worker if he didn’t open a display case, police told the paper.

But the worker fought back, wrestling with the second robber, who was toting a can of pepper spray, the paper said.

With that, the gunman didn't wait on the outcome of the fight and smashed the glass display case with his gun, the Daily News noted.

While the worker wasn't hurt, police told the paper the duo ran off with rings valued at $1,000 — and changed their clothing.

However, the Daily News said the gunman, while racking his weapon, left behind ballistic evidence police recovered.

Authorities released surveillance images of the suspects Tuesday and asked the public to help identify them, the paper said.

The New York Post reported that the during the heist, the gunman was wearing a black face mask, black hooded sweatshirt, black backpack with red straps, and light gray sweatpants. Afterward, however, he changed into a red hooded sweatshirt, red pants, and black sneakers — and was last seen wearing a black backpack with red straps, the paper said, citing police.

Image source: NYPD Crime Stoppers

The suspect with the pepper spray was described as having a thin build, black hair, facial hair, and tattoos on both forearms, the Post said. During the stick-up he was wearing a dark blue backpack, black face mask, black hooded sweatshirt, light gray pants, and black sneakers, the Post noted, adding that police said he later changed into a dark blue backpack, black T-shirt, black pants, and black sneakers.

Image source: NYPD Crime Stoppers

Those with information can confidentially call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, the Daily News said.

'New York City is a big problem now'

The Post reported that a man who gave only his first name — Michael — said he entered the jewelry store moments after the armed robbery.

“You could see the glass was smashed all over, and [the owner] was terrified,” Michael — a 57-year-old customer who works in financial services — told the paper. “He’s scared, you know. I mean, he hasn’t opened up since. And you feel bad for the guy because you know this is really killing his business. I mean, he’s got overhead, and he’s afraid to open.”

A clerk at a news stand right next to the jewelry store — who also gave only his first name, Sharif — told the paper he's scared that he'll also become a victim.

“New York City is a big problem now. No security,” the 58-year-old Brooklyn resident told the paper. “It is really getting very bad here. We have a problem. I do not know who comes in, who has a gun. They ask for $100 in [lottery tickets], and then they reach in their jacket, and I am worried they pull out a gun.”

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