Police investigating 2nd bizarre South Bay robbery involving jewelry swapping
Police in Manhattan Beach are investigating a second bizarre robbery involving fake jewelry being placed on a person as the victim's real jewelry is taken by thieves.
This latest 'distraction theft,' as described by the Manhattan Beach Police Department, happened on March 20, around 1:45 p.m. in the area of Polliwog Park.
The crime was detailed in the Police Department's monthly crime report released last Friday.
Police say the unidentified victim was approached by multiple suspects who 'placed jewelry' on them and, while doing so, removed the victim's own jewelry and took off.
Details about this particular crime are limited, but the details and methodology are similar to another robbery that happened a month earlier in the city.
In that robbery, a woman was approached by a man in a vehicle who asked her for directions.
The driver, described as a Middle Eastern man in his 30s or 40s, handed the victim his cell phone and asked her to translate because his English wasn't very good.
After translating and handing the phone back, the driver grabbed her by the wrist and tried to slip a gold ring onto her finger and two gold chains around her neck.
As she pulled away, a passenger, a Middle Eastern woman of similar age with black hair, reached out of the back window and grabbed the victim by the chain she was already wearing, ripping it off her neck.
The victim fought back and held onto her own jewelry before the driver sped off and dragged her to the ground. She suffered only scrapes and bruises, police said at the time.
The fake jewelry was recovered to be tested for DNA, and police were canvassing the area in search of security footage.
It was not explicitly stated if these two robberies were related, nor has any additional information been released about the March robbery investigation.
Still, the crimes share undeniable similarities, and both are being treated as serious robberies.
Anyone with information about the suspects involved is urged to contact the Manhattan Beach Police Department at 310-545-4566. Security footage can be emailed directly to detectives at eyewitness@manhattanbeach.gov.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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