Suspects cased downtown Walnut Creek mall for a year before brazen $92k Rolex smash and grab, police say
WALNUT CREEK — A 20-year-old Vallejo man has been charged in connection with a 2022 smash-and-grab robbery in a Walnut Creek mall where three suspects made off with $92,285 worth of Rolex watches.
The charges filed March 2 include one count of second-degree robbery, one count of grand theft and one count of burglary. Police arrested another suspect last year, a 19-year-old Vallejo man, and are still working to identify a third suspect in the June 18, 2022 incident.
A judge issued a warrant for the 20-year-old man’s arrest on March 6. Jail and court records indicate he has not yet been arrested or appeared in court.
Last week, 19-year-old Jamonni Simon pleaded no contest to second-degree burglary in connection with the same incident. He was sentenced to 180 days on house arrest and two years probation, records show.
On June 18, 2022, three men, two of them wearing masks, used hammers to smash display cases and steal five Rolex watches from the Macy’s on Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek.
As the police investigation progressed, authorities determined that three men, including Simon, went to the nearby Nordstrom in May 2021 and asked a security employee how many guards were typically on duty and whether they were fast runners. A week later, Simon allegedly entered the Nordstom with two other men, tried on a Rolex watch and ran out of the store. Security guards chased him and got the watch back, but the three suspects escaped, police say.
Rolex watches have always been a target for thieves, but supply chain issues in 2022 led to a shortage that increased their value, according to media reports. As a result, police say they’ve seen an increase in Rolex robberies and thefts that has been further exacerbated by media coverage of such incidents.
Just three days after the Macy’s smash and grab, a group of people driving in a Bentley were robbed, allegedly by two teenaged San Francisco gang members, of two Rolex watches totaling around $17,000 in value, a $29,000 diamond bracelet, a $1,900 Balenciaga purse and other valuables. One of the victims ended up in a shootout with one of the armed suspects, who allegedly trailed the victims from a lunch date in San Francisco.
On June 2, two people were robbed of Rolex watches by armed men on the 1600 block of Locust Street in downtown Walnut Creek. Hours later, three men with guns took a $45,000 Rolex watch from a man at a gas station, while robbing his friend of a diamond chain.
Six weeks later, on July 17, police say a Bay Area rapper offered the diamond chain for sale on Instagram. Police and the FBI raided the rap artist’s home, seizing a firearm, 11 pounds of marijuana and a Lamborghini, according to court records.
He was charged with receiving stolen property, firearm possession and possession of cannabis for sale, and is out on $50,000 bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing. He claimed he never possessed the Rolex but offered it up for sale anyway after taking a picture of it at a swap meet, authorities said.
A second suspect in the June 2 Rolex robbery, a Southern California man, was charged Feb. 28 with multiple felonies, but has not yet appeared in court, records show.