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Jewelry thieves who use distraction to steal, primarily from elderly people, appear to be targeting the Costco parking lot in Redwood City.
Thieves approached victims on Aug. 11 and 17 in the store's parking lot at 2300 Middlefield Road and engaged in "thefts by false pretenses," Redwood City police Lt. Nicholas Perna said over a phone call on Monday, Aug. 21.
In the first incident, the victim was approached by an unidentified Hispanic woman who gave her a fake gold necklace. In the process of doing so, she stole the real gold necklace the victim was wearing. The victim noticed this after she arrived home, the police said in a press release.
In the second incident, a woman approached an elderly man as he was getting into his car on Aug. 17 at 3:06 p.m. and told him "I want to give you a kiss." While she attempted to plant the smooch, she removed a gold chain from his neck, according to the police.
The woman was described as Middle Eastern, 5-feet-7-inches tall, with straight black hair tied up in a bun. She wore a floral dress. A black SUV was possibly associated with the crime, the police said.
The incidents don't qualify as robberies since there was no threat of violence or use of force.
Rumors on social media that seven muggings occurred at the Costco parking lot "have no merit," Perna said.
Both cases are being actively investigated by the Redwood City police.
"We'd like to remind folks to be mindful of their belongings when being approached by people they don’t know. There is a common criminal scam where suspects approach victims and offer them free jewelry while stealing the victim’s actual jewelry. The suspects often target the elderly," the department said in the press release.
Another type of theft by distraction occurred in the same parking lot (Costco, Redwood City) recently. On Aug. 10, a pair stole three credit cards from a woman's purse as she was loading groceries into her car, according to a police media report. One person approached and distracted her, while the second, a man, entered her car and stole her credit cards.
These types of crimes have been occurring throughout the Bay Area over the last two years, at least. Typically, the pattern is as follows: a woman approaches an elderly female, gives her a compliment and offers to give her a piece of jewelry; then as she starts to slip a bracelet or necklace onto the victim's wrist or neck, she snatches the victim's jewelry and takes off.
At least three such incidents occurred in Palo Alto in 2022. In one incident, a woman in her 80s was accosted by a couple in Palo Alto when the thief attempted to rip a ring off her finger. The woman, who was using a walker, was in the 700 block of Channing Avenue in Palo Alto at about 4:15 p.m. when a large, black, four-door sedan pulled up beside her. A female passenger asked the woman for directions to a grocery store before getting out of the car to continue the conversation. The woman told the victim she resembled her mother and wanted to give her a piece of her mother’s jewelry. The woman took the victim’s hand off the walker and slipped a bracelet onto her wrist, then tried to pull a ring off her finger. The victim had bruising on her fingers as a result of the incident.
The police are seeking tips on any Redwood City cases. Anyone with information may call the tip line at 650-780-7110.
