SANTA ANA, Calif. – Seven Los Angeles County men, including second-striker who was wearing a GPS ankle monitor, have been charged with multiple felonies in connection with a violent smash-and-grab robbery at an Anaheim Hills jewelry store Friday afternoon using a stolen car to ram the store’s entrance and hammers and crowbars to smash the store’s display cases and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry. The seven men and one juvenile were arrested after the thieves escaped in two stolen Dodge Chargers and then crashed in two separate multi-vehicle collisions in Fullerton, injuring several innocent bystanders, before being arrested.
The damage and stolen jewelry are estimated to be worth approximately $800,000. The adult suspects are currently facing maximum sentences between 13 years and four months to life in prison.
“If anyone thinks they are going to come into Orange County to steal and get away with it, they are in for a rude awakening,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “We will not tolerate lawlessness, violence, and criminals being imported from other counties to terrorize our business owners, our residents, and our visitors in the hopes of a quick payday. These crimes are about so much more than money; these are crimes of sophisticated violence that endanger the lives of customers and store employees, the law enforcement officers who pursue them, and every innocent driver who happens to be in the path of their attempted getaway. Crime doesn’t pay in Orange County isn’t just a slogan – it’s what we do, and these individuals are about to find out that we believe in accountability and the full weight of the law here in Orange County.”…