In broad daylight on June 12, 2024, more than twenty suspects broke into Indian-owned PNG Jewelers on El Camino Real and fled in multiple cars with looted jewelry. The suspects entered the store around 1:30 p.m. and used hammers and tools to break the display cases. As they made their escape, police pursued the thieves, and eventually took five of them into custody. It’s the third time a Bay Area Indian jewelry store has been robbed in the last six weeks.
According to a Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety press release, police responded to a call around 1:30 p.m. and by the time officers reached the scene, suspects had already fled in multiple vehicles.
“Around 28 to 30 men entered and within two minutes grabbed whatever they could and left,” said store manager Hemlata Thete. She and her staff are not sure about the exact value of the jewelry stolen, but are glad that no one was harmed. “Nobody was injured – not even a scratch,” she said.
Police officers pursued two of the vehicles onto Highway 101 in the direction of the San Francisco Peninsula. They discontinued pursuit after losing sight of both cars, but allied agency officers located one of the cars near Redwood City. The five suspects attempted to flee on foot after abandoning their car, but were apprehended and taken into police custody in San Carlos.
The press release identified the suspects as Tonga Latu, Tavake Esafe, Ofa Ahomana, Kilifi Leaaetoa, and Afuhia Lavakeiaho. All five were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail under multiple offenses including armed robbery and felony vehicle evasion.
This incident follows robberies at Nitin Jewelers in Sunnyvale (May 4), and Bhindi Jewelers in Newark (May 29). The modus operandi – multiple suspects breaking display cases with hammers and making their getaways in multiple cars – was the same across all three heists.
“Right now, our investigators are trying to see if they are related,” said Captain Dzanh Le, Public Information Officer at the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. “If they are, we will make the announcements in future press releases, but right now, it’s too early for us to know.”
On Friday, June 14, Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein, Vice Mayor Murali Srinivasan and Department of Public Safety Officers met with Indian American business and community leaders at City Hall, to discuss the two robberies that have taken place in Sunnyvale. The conversations revolved around enhancing security measures at business establishments to protect from such crimes in the future.
“As an Indian, I am really concerned about these brazen attacks… targeting any group or any businesses is not the way America works,” said Vice Mayor Srinivasan. “We want to assure the Indian businesses that we are fully supportive and share their loss, and that we will catch the people who did this.”
This story was first published on June 13, and has since been updated.
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