(KRON) — Five men have been charged for their alleged roles in a March jewelry heist that happened in San Ramon, the United States Department of Justice said. Approximately $1.1 million in jewelry and watches were stolen from a family-owned store.
Sunia Mafileo Faavesi, 30, Ryan Kentrell Montgomery, 35, Paul Christopher Tonga, 33, John Ioane Tupou, 30, and Kyle Vehikite, 34, are the five defendants.
According to a criminal complaint, the five men surveyed Heller Jewelers, located at 6000 Bollinger Canyon Rd Suite 1506, a week before the robbery and returned on March 17 to commit it. Eleven people, some of whom were armed, took part.
According to the DOJ, some participants were inside the store during the robbery, and others acted as lookouts and getaway drivers. It happened in the middle of the afternoon at City Center Bishop Ranch, a mall in San Ramon. Bystanders fled as the armed and masked robbers carried out the crime. There were four getaway vehicles.
The complaint said investigators were able to identify one defendant from GPS information coming from a stolen Rolex. An investigation helped authorities identify the other four and determine what they were doing during the robbery.
Faavesi, Montgomery, Tonga, and Vehikite were all arrested on July 26. Tupou remains at large.
If convicted, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
