6 arrested in San Jose smoke shop robberies; 2 linked to gang beatings, police say

SAN JOSE — Police arrested two men and four teenagers in connection with armed robberies at two smoke shops in May, recovering two handguns and some of the stolen merchandise, authorities said.

Two of the suspects are also implicated in separate gang-related beatings in San Jose and Sunnyvale, police said.

The first robbery was reported around 3:35 a.m. May 23 at a smoke shop in the 2500 block of South King Road. Five people entered the business and one threatened an employee with a handgun while the others stole boxes containing vaping devices, cartridges and dozens of packs of rolling papers, police said.

Three days later, around 12:35 a.m., six people entered a smoke shop in the 700 block of South Winchester Boulevard, police said. An employee told police one brandished a firearm and they ransacked the store and stole more than a dozen vaping devices before fleeing in a vehicle.

Investigators linked the vehicle to a 15-year-old boy and arrested him later that day, police said. A search of his home turned up a black handgun that police believed to have been used in the robberies. The boy was booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall.

On June 24, police arrested a 19-year-old San Jose man and two San Jose boys, ages 16 and 15. Officers traveled to Modoc County on July 1 to arrest a 17-year-old San Jose boy, then arrested a 20-year-old Milpitas man the following day.

Searches of the suspects’ homes turned up a second handgun and merchandise stolen from the smoke shops, police said.

The 19-year-old man and 17-year-old boy are also among eight people suspected in a pair of attacks that police described as gang related. Those included the April 4 beating of a man outside a 7-Eleven on Seven Trees Boulevard near East Capitol Expressway and a March beating in Sunnyvale.

Anyone with information about the robberies can contact the San Jose Police Department’s robbery unit at 408-277-4166 or email Detective Eduardo Ledesma at [email protected]. Tips can also be submitted to Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.