Police Link Failed Santa Cruz Robbery to Corte Madera Jewelry Store Heist

Three men wearing black ski masks attempted to rob a jewelry store in Santa Cruz on Friday afternoon in an incident police say had similarities to heists elsewhere, including the violent robbery of Julianna's Fine Jewelry at The Village in Corte Madera in August.

The men entered Dell Williams Jewelers at about 12:55 p.m. and tried to break into a display case, according to Santa Cruz police. A fourth suspect was driving a black Audi A7 with paper dealership plates from Audi of Oakland, police said.

One of the suspects sprayed jewelry store employees with pepper spray while two other suspects tried to break the display case, police said.

The suspects were not successful in breaching the case, and they fled the scene in the Audi, which was waiting on Pacific Avenue.

Police received numerous reports of the car driving recklessly through downtown on the state Highway 1 bypass, police said. The car was later found abandoned in the 100 block of Fern Street. Investigators contacted the Audi dealership in Oakland and discovered that the car had been missing from the lot for two days.

The suspects were described as men between 20 and 25 years old with medium builds and dark complexion, all wearing baggy pants, and black ski masks over their faces. Two of the suspects were wearing black hoodies, and the third suspect was wearing a gray hoodie. There was no description of the driver.

Police said the incident was similar to recent robberies that occurred in San Carlos, Danville, Corte Madera and Campbell. In the Corte Madera incident, three suspects, described as black male adults, between 6 feet and 6 feet 2 inches and 180 to 210 pounds, entered the store. One of them was armed with a semi-automatic handgun and ordered the store employees to the ground while a second suspect used a tire iron to break the glass tops of several display cases, according to Twin Cities Police Sgt. Paul Barrolaza. The third suspect emptied the watches from the display cases into a duffle bag, Barroloza said.

One of the store owners suffered moderate injuries when he was thrown into a display case during a physical altercation with the armed suspect, Barroloza said. The victim was treated at Marin General Hospital for minor cuts to his head.

The getaway vehicle, a black Dodge Charger with blue and white paper plates, was seen heading north on Redwood Highway.

The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information about the Corte Madera robbery is asked to call the Twin Cities Police at (415) 927-5150. Anyone with information about the Santa Cruz incident should contact Santa Cruz police at (831) 420-5820.

--Bay City News Service contributed to this report.