Jewelry shop in Oakland's Montclair targeted in smash-and-grab

Workers pepper-sprayed in jewelry-store holdup in Oakland's Montclair

Masked invaders armed with hammers and pepper spray robbed a jewelry store in Oakland's Montclair Village during the busy weekly Farmers Market.

OAKLAND, Calif. - A jewelry shop in Oakland's Montclair Village was robbed during business hours over the weekend.

A group of masked robbers dressed in black invaded Aster Jewelers on Mountain Boulevard at about 11:15 a.m. Sunday.

Robbers sprayed workers and smashed display cases

What we know:

They smashed display cases with hammers and sprayed workers with pepper spray before escaping with jewelry worth about $100,000.

No customer repairs or personal jewelry was taken.

The owners did not want to go on camera, saying they wanted to focus on uplifting Oakland and thanking the community for its support.

KTVU spoke to Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson on Monday as she stopped by the shop during a coffee break.

"I just happened to see folks outside and wanted to just talk to them and tell them how sorry I am that this happened to them," she said.

Asked for her reaction, she said, "The same thoughts that I have about any robbery, broad daylight, at night, especially strong-arm robbery. It's unacceptable, and so that's why we do the work. We're looking to make sure that individuals who are doing this are held accountable for doing so."

Past crimes at Montclair Village

Although relatively safe, Montclair Village has had its share of high-profile crime.

Big picture view:

In April, a jewelry appraiser was followed from a bank and shot and wounded near the Montclair Railroad Trail.

In 2019, a customer at the Starbucks across the street from Aster Jewelers chased after thieves who stole his laptop and was hit and killed by their car.

Arrests were made in both those cases.

Bill Williams, owner of Pelago gift shop in the village, said his business was targeted at a previous site.

"At our old location, someone smashed the door and just took our cash drawer and a couple of watches," Williams said.

"I think that a little bit more police presence up here would be helpful. I've spoken to the new beat officer…he seems good," Williams said. Motioning to a dispensary in the village, he noted, "Now this dispensary has two full-time security guards, seems helpful."

Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, who represents Montclair said in a statement Monday that she was "deeply saddened and disturbed by the devastating and traumatic robbery" and that her office had also reached out to the business.

I also promise to keep the pressure on OPD to increase patrols in our commercial corridors and improve emergency response times to flagrant crimes such as these," Ramachandran said. "In addition to police support, I will also continue to advocate for funding needed to provide Montclair Village with Community Safety Ambassadors to help with crime reduction."

Oakland police are investigating the robbery. Officers have at their disposal a robust system of surveillance cameras in the shopping district.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan

The Source: KTVU reporting, Oakland police

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