Man charged in wild mob-style robbery at San Ramon jewelry store

SAN RAMON, Calif. (KRON) — A man charged in a wild mob-style robbery at Heller Jewelers in San Ramon appeared in a Contra Costa County courtroom Monday.

Jimmy Mack Ray, 27, of Vallejo, pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges stemming from the September 22 robbery. Drone and surveillance videos showed about 25 people running through City Center Bishop Ranch shopping center and rushing into the jewelry store.

In broad daylight, around 2 p.m., masked thieves stormed into the store with guns, rapidly smashed glass display cases with pickaxes, and snatched handfuls of jewels, surveillance video shows.

When the group realized that the store’s doors had automatically locked them in, someone fired bullets into the doors to make a getaway with $1 million worth of jewelry, investigations said.

Police said accomplices waited in five cars outside that were used as getaway vehicles. Two of the cars had been stolen within the past 24 hours, according to court documents.

San Ramon Police Department spokesperson Ashley Moore described the heist as a mob-style takeover.

“Middle of the day. It’s scary, and it’s not something we ever want to see happen. In total, they were in and out in about 70 seconds. They knew what they were doing, this was an organized hit,” Moore said.

The group evaded law enforcement, fled from San Ramon, and drove to a building on International Boulevard in Oakland, court documents show.

Investigators later took seven suspects into custody, including six adults and one juvenile.

“Officers with Oakland police were able to apprehend the suspects after they were seen leaving a building on the 9900 block of International Boulevard,” prosecutors wrote. Police also seized six cars connected to the suspects.

A criminal complaint filed by prosecutors contains more details about how the heist was allegedly planned and executed:

• Members of the conspiracy stole a silver Honda Accord on Sept. 21 with plans of using it to commit the Heller’s Jewelers robbery. They attached a fake paper license plate to the Honda.
• Members of the conspiracy stole a white Kia Stinger on Sept. 22.
• Later that day, more than 20 members of the conspiracy arrived in five separate vehicles outside Heller’s Jewelers in San Ramon and pillaged the store.
• One man in the group fired a gun to break the store’s locked glass door and escape.
• The group drove to Oakland and entered a building with some of the stolen jewels. The group split up and left the building in different vehicles.

“Our communities deserve safety from conduct like the audacious daylight robbery in San Ramon,” District Attorney Diana Becton said.

After Ray entered his plea on Monday, Superior Court Judge Glenn Kim set his bail at $8 million.

Ray remained in custody as of Tuesday morning, according to jail inmate records. His co-defendant, Michael Lamont Ray, Jr., 31, of San Francisco, is also currently in custody.

A third man arrested and charged in the case was identified as 19-year-old Ira Raheem Austin of San Francisco.

Jimmy Mack Ray is scheduled to return to court on October 10 for a preliminary hearing.

Becton said, “My office will continue to work with San Ramon PD and other law enforcement partners to identify other perpetrators who participated in this brazen robbery and charge them accordingly.”