RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Police in San Jose arrested an alleged ring of jewelry thieves who forcibly robbed elderly people, the department said Tuesday.
Last Thursday just before 3 p.m., officers in San Jose responded to a strong-armed robbery in a parking lot in the 5300 block of Almaden Expressway. According to the victim, who is an elderly woman, a woman approached her and forcibly took her ring and gold chain necklace before taking off in a car being driven by a man.
Investigators were able to identify the car used in the robbery and on Friday, the car was located in Concord, where someone else reported a strong-armed robbery outside of a business.
The suspects’ vehicle was then tracked through license plate cameras back to San Jose at a business located in the 2200 block of Senter Road.
Officers made contact with the suspects and two men and one woman were detained: Ruxandra Constantin, 30, Caldararu Constantin, 36, and Constantin Constantin, 34.
While the trio was being arrested, another elderly woman approached police and said she had just been robbed of her gold chain necklace, allegedly by the suspects. Police said they located a bag with gold and jewelry in it in the possession of Ruxandra Constantin.
Investigators believe the three are responsible for an additional grand theft of a gold chain necklace on Aug. 16 in a parking lot in the 5300 block of Almaden Expressway, where an elderly man was robbed.
According to police, chain snatch robberies have been an increasing trend not only in the city of San Jose but throughout the Bay Area.
“In these cases, the suspects typically approach elderly victims walking in public and forcibly remove the gold chain necklace off the person,” the San Jose Police Department said. “Often times, the suspects will use distraction techniques, such as selling jewelry, striking up a conversation, or swapping the jewelry out without the victim’s knowledge.”
Due to the nature of these crimes, detectives believe there may be additional victims. Anyone with information about these cases or similar cases is asked to contact Detective Thandi at [email protected] or 408-277-4166.
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