I have covered a number of bold daytime robberies in California, exacerbated by closing prisons and criminal-supporting sentencing policies.
The incidents were so numerous that a phrase became a staple of reports describing these shocking thefts, “smash-and-grab” robberies. In one instance, $5 million in jewelry from a Beverly Hills store was taken in a daytime heist.
Last June, there was another flash-mob-robbery at a store in Fremont, California. The Department of Justice recently released footage of the incident, and it is disturbing.
Video released by the U.S. Department of Justice shows a robbery crew brazenly strike a local jewelry store during the day with lightning speed, clearing out an estimated $1.7 million in jewelry in about 70 seconds.The video, obtained by this news organization through a public records request, shows a seemingly chaotic scene. About two dozen robbers rush into Kumar Jewelers with picks, hammers and backpacks, smashing cases and stuffing their bags while the employees run for cover in the back.Prosecutors say these types of robberies, while rare, are meticulously planned and designed to overcome increasingly prevalent electronic surveillance.The June 18, 2025 robbery lasted about 90 seconds, from the time a stolen Honda smashed down the door as two gunmen held a security guard hostage, to the last robber’s exit. They left almost nothing behind. The $1.7 million in gold and diamonds represented 75 to 80 percent of the store’s entire inventory, the owner later estimated to prosecutors.
Earlier this year, a jury indicted four of the over 20 suspected thieves in connection with this incident.
The defendants have been identified as 20-year-old Afatupetaiki Faasisila of San Jose, 20-year-old Jose Herrada-Aragon of Concord, 19-year-old Andres Palestino of Concord and 19-year-old Tom Parker Donegan of Fairfield. Prosecutors said the four were indicted on Dec. 18 and the indictment was unsealed Tuesday.According to the criminal complaint, the four were among two dozen masked individuals who took part in a takeover-style robbery of the store.Surveillance video showed a gray Honda ramming into the store’s front façade. One of the individuals brandished a firearm at the store’s security guard, while another held the guard’s arms, forcing him to the ground.Prosecutors said Faasisila, Herrada-Aragon and Palestino were among those who allegedly stormed the business. Robbers used hammers and other tools to smash display cases and grab an estimated $1.7 in jewelry before leaving in waiting vehicles.
Only four were caught because police focused on their getaway car, which eventually crashed. Officers caught the four who were indicted when they attempted to flee on foot.
Unfortunately, the other remain unidentified and are likely still roaming California.
“Forced to decide which car to pursue, officers continued after (a) Black Acura, which led them on a pursuit through several residential areas in Fremont,” federal prosecutors wrote in court filings. “During the pursuit, the Black Acura passed other vehicles on the wrong side of the road, ran stop signs at multiple intersections, and reached speeds of approximately 80 miles per hour while veering across lanes.”..Faasisila and Palestino were released as the case is pending, according to records reviewed by the East Bay Times.Most of the bandits remain at large.
California’s ruling class promised “reform,” but what they delivered is a state where a mob can ram a stolen car through a storefront, loot $1.7 million in gold and diamonds in 70 seconds, and mostly vanish back into the wind while business owners are left with shattered glass and shattered livelihoods.
The Fremont heist is not an anomaly; it is the predictable result of years of downgraded penalties, prison closures, and sanctuary‑style indulgence that tell organized thieves the odds are in their favor, not the victim’s.
Until voters finally reject the soft‑on‑crime, sanctuary‑city mania that turned “smash‑and‑grab” into a normal part of the California vocabulary, they should expect more viral videos, more boarded‑up shops, and more politicians pretending to be shocked by the chaos they carefully engineered.
Of course, better choices in California would be likelier if protections against vote fraud were in place.
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