Mob of Two Dozen Thieves Steals $1.7 Million in Gold From Fremont Jeweler

Nearly two dozen masked thieves descended on Kumar Jewelers in Fremont, California on June 18, 2025, and in roughly 70 seconds stripped the store of approximately $1.7 million in gold and diamonds, representing 75 to 80 percent of the store's entire inventory, the owner later estimated to prosecutors.

The raid began when a stolen Honda smashed down the storefront door as two gunmen held a security guard hostage. About two dozen robbers then flooded the showroom armed with picks, hammers, and backpacks, smashing glass display cases and stuffing their bags while employees fled to the back. Bay Area News Group, which obtained surveillance footage through a public records request, described the scene as "seemingly chaotic" but executed with startling efficiency. The U.S. Department of Justice subsequently released the same footage publicly, and authorities characterized the operation as a "mob-style takeover." Measured from the vehicle ramming to the last robber's exit, the robbery lasted approximately 90 seconds; several outlets reported roughly 70 seconds for the interior looting itself.

"They left almost nothing behind," Bay Area News Group reported, citing the store owner's statement to prosecutors. "The $1.7 million in gold and diamonds represented 75 to 80 percent of the store's entire inventory."

The getaway was engineered with the same deliberateness. The masked crew fled in multiple stolen vehicles that split off in different directions, forcing responding officers to pursue a single car and abandon the others. Because all getaway vehicles were stolen, automated license plate readers provided investigators no link to the suspects, according to court filings.

Federal prosecutors with the Northern District of California later arrested four suspects: Afatupetaiki Faasisila, Jose Herrada-Aragon, Andres Palestino, and Tom Parker Donegan, all approximately 19 or 20 years old at the time of the robbery. Faasisila and Palestino were subsequently released as the case remains pending. Most of the roughly two dozen participants remain at large.

The investigation also surfaced a troubling pattern. Three months after the Kumar Jewelers heist, dozens of robbers struck Heller Jewelers in San Ramon, again walking out with an estimated $1.7 million in jewelry, according to Contra Costa prosecutors. Donegan was later identified as a suspected getaway driver in both crimes. Prosecutors noted that while such robberies are rare, they are "meticulously planned and designed to overcome increasingly prevalent electronic surveillance," a warning that the Kumar heist was less an opportunistic grab than a calculated operation built to outpace the very systems designed to stop it.