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Bay Area leaders press Newsom for more funding to curb retail theft
A smash-and-grab robbery at a South Bay Macy’s is the latest high-profile retail crime to spark renewed calls for tougher enforcement across the Bay Area.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police on Thursday announced the arrests of four men they say are connected to a smash-and-grab with sledgehammers at a mall several months ago.
Suspects identified
Police identified the suspects as Devin Hairston, 31, of Oakland; Charlie Jones, 23, of Oakland; Emilio Sanchez, 24, of Hayward; and Roman Camarena, 18, of Stockton.
San Jose police identified the suspects as (L-R) Devin Hairston, 31, of Oakland; Charlie Jones, 23, of Oakland; Emilio Sanchez, 24, of Hayward; and Roman Camarena, 18, of Stockton.
The backstory:
In a news release, police said that the arrests stem from Jan. 11 at a business at a mall in the 2800 block of Stevens Creek Boulevard.
Four suspects went into the store with sledgehammers, police said, and broke in, taking thousands of dollars of high-end watches.
The suspects fled before police got there.
Police figured out two of the getaway cars and used license plate readers to find both vehicles left abandoned in San Jose and Fremont.
Robbery unit detectives eventually arrested all four suspects, and they learned that Hairston and Camarena were allegedly involved in a separate armed robbery on Dec. 31, 2025 at a business in the 3000 block of McKee Road, where they also used a sledgehammer to break into a jewelry case.
Police provided a photo of the evidence they collected from the case, including jewelry, watches and some clothing.