Thieves may be using ‘distraction method’ to get into Bay Area homes

A group of suspects may be using a “distraction method” to steal family valuables, distraught Bay Area residents said.

The reported robberies occurred in San Jose. Residents Raj Pokalori and Renuka Rajagopal told SFGATE that in September, thieves left their house with $100,000 in jewelry after posing as customers trying to buy a dress from Rajagopal, who is a fashion designer. 

Pokalori, who is Rajagopal’s husband, recalled the experience in a phone interview. Pokalori said the robbery happened on Sept. 29, but the couple didn’t realize they were robbed until Oct. 9. As they tried to figure out when the robbery could have happened, the couple recalled a day when a few customers seeking Rajagopal’s clothing, a business that is run from inside their home, acted strangely. 

Pokalori said a few customers came into the store without an appointment outside his wife’s business hours. Four people, including a woman with a baby in her arms, knocked on the door, insisted on receiving help and were let in by Rajagopal, Pokalori said. 

After recalling the strange interaction, the couple reviewed their video footage and realized that two additional people entered the house, went upstairs to the master bedroom and allegedly took their jewelry as Rajagopal helped the customers. Pokalori said the customers “created chaos” by asking many questions as Rajagopal assisted them, all while the baby was constantly crying.

Pokalori said the stolen jewelry will not be covered by his home insurance. 

He added that the group of suspects seemed “very organized” because they knew exactly where their jewelry was, where to find the master bedroom and when his wife doesn’t usually allow customers.

“I am feeling so unsafe, and I’m not able to look at anything without a suspicion,” he said. “I don’t know who I should trust.”

He said after seeing a similar robbery on the news involving a “distraction,” he believes the suspects could be the same people who robbed him. The robbery that caught the couple’s attention was a home invasion in San Jose on Oct. 27. The reported robbery happened on the 1900 block of Story Road when three people allegedly convinced a man to open his front door, Jeff Levine, who is part of the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, said in a statement attached to a YouTube video.

As the residents were distracted, three people allegedly stole an entire safe and cash from inside the home. In video footage posted by Levine, the alleged thieves are shown pushing away the couple who live there. The couple’s grandson, Josh Benjach, told NBC Bay Area the broad-daylight robbery was “outrageous.”

Another related case may have happened in August, when a woman distracted the owner at Park’s Custom Alterations on Meridian Avenue in San Jose while another woman snuck in the back and took a family vault valued up to $150,000, NBC Bay Area’s Damian Trujilio reported.

The San Jose Police Department did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment or confirmation that the string of robberies may be related.