$1M in Jewelry Stolen in Northern California Smash and Grab

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against four individuals—three adults and one juvenile—in connection with the Sept. 22 smash-and-grab robbery at Heller Jewelers in San Ramon, California.

San Ramon, Calif.—Officials in Contra Costa County, California, have filed charges against four individuals in connection with a violent smash-and-grab that happened late last month in Northern California.

According to the San Ramon Police Department, the “takeover-style” robbery happened before 2 p.m. on Sept. 22 at Heller Jewelers, located in the City Center Bishop Ranch shopping center.

About 20 individuals entered the store and began smashing the display cases, ultimately stealing more than $1 million in merchandise.

Police said several of the suspects were armed with handguns. At least one suspect fired a round through the store’s front entrance so the mob could escape after being locked inside the store by a security door.

No one was injured during the robbery, police said.

The suspects fled the scene in cars they had left in the center’s valet parking area.

San Ramon police said officers chased some of the individuals involved but ultimately ended the pursuit because of the “inherent danger to the public,” and because they had police helicopters and drones overhead. 

The helicopters and drones tracked one suspect’s vehicle through Contra Costa County south into Alameda County, eventually arresting several suspects in the cities of Oakland and Dublin, California.

In a news release issued Sept. 25, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office named three individuals who have been charged in the robbery: 31-year-old Michael Lamont Ray Jr. of San Francisco, 19-year-old Ira Raheem Austin of San Francisco, and 27-year-old Jimmy Mack Ray of Vallejo, California.

Ted Asregadoo, the public information officer for the DA’s office, confirmed that a juvenile has been charged in the case as well.

He said the office expects San Ramon police to refer three more individuals for prosecution.

Each defendant faces 13 counts of second-degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime, with special enhancements possible under California’s Proposition 36 due to the value of the stolen property, the DA’s office said.

The conspiracy charges detail 11 overt criminal acts that involved a coordinated operation, the DA’s office said, an operation that allegedly involved the group stealing vehicles to use in the smash and grab. 

Jimmy Ray was arraigned Sept. 29. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and the judge denied his request to be released on his own recognizance, setting bail at $8 million, Asregadoo said. 

Austin made bail after being booked into the jail in Martinez, California, but the court has since issued a bench warrant for his arrest, with bail set at $3.5 million. 

According to Asregadoo, Michael Ray Jr. was booked into a jail in Alameda County, where he’s facing charges unrelated to the smash-and-grab robbery at Heller Jewelers. 

The San Ramon Police Department said in its Sept. 22 release that the investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call Detective Corporal Kevin Tjahjadi at 925-733-7316. 

The police did not return a call seeking additional comment on the case. 

Heller Jewelers was closed for nearly a week following the robbery but posted a message of thanks to the San Ramon community on its Instagram page.

It reads in part, “Heller Jewelers has been part of this community for nearly thirty years, and we’ve always believed in the strength of the relationships we’ve built with you.

“Your support in the days since means more to us than we can express.”

The Sept. 22 robbery at Heller Jewelers is one in a string of violent smash-and-grabs in California this year involving large groups of individuals storming the jewelry store. 

Though it was not the case in the Heller Jewelers robbery, some of these crimes have involved the robbers ramming through the storefront with a car or truck.

“In all my years doing this, I’ve never seen this many vehicles being driven [into jewelry stores] and this many groups bum-rushing jewelry stores,” Jewelers’ Security Alliance Executive Vice President Scott Guginsky said in a July interview with National Jeweler.

He shared a number of tips to help prevent or mitigate losses from these violent smash-and-grab robberies. 

They include notifying local law enforcement about this pattern and requesting extra patrol coverage; placing flowerpots, stanchions, or bollards in front of the store as a barrier to stop, or at least slow down, vehicles; and having an insurance policy that adequately covers the value of all of the store’s inventory. 

Jewelry store owners also need to train staff not to resist in the event of any type of robbery.