Manhattan Beach police seeking duo who robbed woman of jewelry after asking for directions
It happened on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at around 12:10 p.m. outside of the residence in the 3400 block of Palm Avenue, according to the Manhattan Beach Police Department.
"The female victim was walking up to her driveway when the suspect, driving a blue sedan or SUV, called out to her," the statement said. "The male suspect asked for directions to Whole Foods and handed the victim his cell phone, asking her to speak into the phone for translation because his English was not very good."
After the woman did this and handed the phone back to the man, he grabbed her wrist and attempted to put a gold wring and two gold chains on her, police said. As she pulled away from the man, a female in the back seat reached out of the window and grabbed her, pulling the chain from her neck.
"The victim attempted to grab her chain back, but the male suspect drove the car away, knocking the victim to the ground," MBPD said. The woman suffered abrasions to her knees but no further injuries, police said.
Arriving officers found the jewelry that the man tried to put on the victim in the street and collected it to try and glean DNA.
The male suspect is believed to be between 30 and 40 years old, while the woman is approximately 40 and has black hair, police said.
Investigators say that they have canvassed the neighborhood for video surveillance and advise the public to be wary of similar circumstances.
The crime is similar to two recent incidents that occurred in Southern California over the last week, one of which resulted in the arrest of "jewelry switch" scammers in Orange County. Those same suspects, a man and woman from Romania, are believed to be the same who stole two prized Los Angeles Dodgers World Series rings from their former pitching coach.
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