A group of crooks that rammed a local jewelry store with a stolen car absconded from the scene of an attempted robbery after a Sunnyvale man pointed a gun at them.
“I didn’t have time to think; it was just a gut reaction,” said V. Vasan, the owner’s husband. “I instinctively realized it was a heist.”
The robbery attempt occurred around 6:30 p.m. on March 29 at Priya Jewelers, 895 E. El Camino Real in Sunnyvale.
Vasan, whose wife, Priya Vasan, owns the store, said he was about six feet from where the white Honda Accord smashed through the storefront.
A string of robberies last year prompted Vasan to buy a gun to protect his wife’s business. He had never owned a gun prior. In recent years, he said, laws have become “so laxed” that he felt he needed to take matters into his own hands.
Surveillance video shows the men careened into the building twice before Vasan ran from the store to confront them. He brandished a handgun to deter the robbery.
“I was trying to protect us and our family … I could feel the car about to come back again, maybe just my gut feeling,” he said. “I am shouting so they can see me, and I am waving at my torso, kind of aiming at them.”
Seeing Vasan holding the gun — close to his chest so the contrast was evident — the car promptly did a U-turn onto Wolfe Road, jumping the median into the opposite lane before speeding off.
A short time later, police recovered the stolen car, unoccupied, according to a Sunnyvale Public Safety press release. Several other stolen vehicles were located in the same area.
Preliminary investigation suggests multiple suspects were involved, and all the stolen vehicles were involved in the incident. Witnesses later saw the suspects fleeing the area in a newer model minivan, which police later located, determining it too was stolen.
While the car missed him, the ruckus violently flung open a door, causing it to strike his wife in the arm, leaving her bruised and in pain. She did not need medical treatment.
Vasan is awaiting the estimate of damage and for the insurance company to process the claim.
“I was kind of shaken up by seeing the damage,” he said. “To be frank, I still haven’t come out of it. It is so surreal to me.”
Police are continuing to investigate and are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Detective E. Rosette at (408) 730-7110.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
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