Latest organized mass robbery, assault on owner prompt San Jose city, DA response

SAN JOSE South Bay authorities are launching a pilot plan that provides tool for small businesses to connect their defense cameras directly to the police department so that crimes can be monitored in real time in a move aimed at mitigating retail theft they declared at a news conference Wednesday The announcement from the Santa Clara County District Attorney s Office and the San Jose Police Department comes nearly two weeks after a smash-and-grab robbery at Kim Hung Jewelry store on Aborn Road in east San Jose drew international attention Video of the Sept robbery shows a car crashing into the storefront before more than a dozen masked figures enter and begin emerging the glass jewelry cases one of the robbers violently shoves the elderly owner of the store to the ground Relatives of the store owner disclosed he suffered a stroke after the robbery The new anti-theft plan is funded by a grant provided by the District Attorney s Office and will allow about businesses to be equipped with the new equipment Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen communicated Organized retail theft gangs are terrorizing our district and they re not just destroying store fronts and stealing jewelry Rosen stated at the press conference They re destroying dreams stealing livelihoods and making it arduous for mom-and-pop store owners to put food on the table for themselves and their children Related Articles San Jose Victim in triple homicide was city housing employee mayor says Preliminary hearing continues for two Bay Area felons charged in fatal robbery of East Bay man Residents of a California nudist ranch known for a double killing say the owners are forcing them to wear clothes move out California jeweler philanthropist accused in lawsuits of stealing millions fleeing U S Man convicted of California murder in ordered disclosed from prison The grant will allow the small businesses to connect safeguard cameras they already have installed to SJPD s real time intelligence center which will then allow police to respond to incidents more swiftly Rosen explained The cameras will also allow officers to disseminate descriptions of individuals and their vehicles to responding officers according to a news release This is a challenge changer stated San Jose police Chief Paul Joseph SJPD s real-time intelligence center was launched four months ago and is in the present connected to more than residents safety cameras around the city Joseph stated The district attorney s office is contributing another to install concrete planters in front of small businesses who do not have safety cameras or whose police departments do not have an existing infrastructure connection Rosen explained The planters will help block cars from driving through the front The funding the activity came from a consumer protection lawsuit against Google according to a news release This society our society watched in fear as a senior was assaulted reported San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan We re taking action to assure our population that they are not alone and we are empowering them to help prevent these cases and ensure faster and more effective investigations Joseph added that SJPD is working diligently to bring the people suspected of robbing Kim Hung Jewelry to justice No arrests have been made yet he added We will not rest until we find them but we re here to do even more help protect this business and other small businesses from future victimization Joseph disclosed Rosen added that he has full confidence that the San Jose Police Department is working day and night to find these individuals When they re unveiled and the charges are filed by my office we will prosecute them quite vigorously and send them to prison for a long time so that they never do this again and so that everybody understands that if you commit a crime like this we re going to catch you and then we re going to send you to prison Period Rosen revealed San Jose City Councilmember Bien Doan who not long ago reached out to the family of the jewelry store s owner reported that the owner is doing okay at this point Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee explained that the robbery caused more than of loss for the jewelry store not including health bills or compensation for emotional suffering Our work together is dedicated to protecting you from harm and ensuring that we feel safe within this district Lee commented We are proud to say that Santa Clara County is a safe district but it only takes one crime one affair for us to feel very shaken in our confidence Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong added that the surrounding neighborhood is where immigrants have rebuilt their lives I don t just get to represent this incredible district This is home and these are my neighbors and these are families we care deeply about who have invested their dreams their life savings everything they ve got all their resource all their endurance into building a better district for all of us she stated Inhabitants safety is the number one priority for all of us and for me it s deeply personal Retail theft has been a hot-button issue in California with voters passing Proposition in last year s electoral process to increase penalties for certain theft and drug-related crimes The DA s Office and SJPD have also each created specialized units to track retail theft arrests and prosecutions Rosen added touting fresh efforts that lead to the arrest of a group of serial thieves who had targeted Home Depot stores and others who stole Infiniti cars and drove them into storefronts Bad actors who want to harm our city are reliably getting better at what they do so our police department must do the same We need to innovate faster than those who would do harm Mahan commented This partnership is the future It s the way that we as one networked locality prevent crime and catch criminals faster and hold them accountable