{"id":4118,"date":"2026-07-09T14:38:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4118"},"modified":"2026-07-09T14:38:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:38:35","slug":"san-jose-police-release-video-of-vietnamese-monument-theft-ask-public-to-identify-suspects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4118","title":{"rendered":"San Jose police release video of Vietnamese monument theft, ask public to identify suspects"},"content":{"rendered":"

It took two suspects less than 30 minutes to steal a monument deeply important to San Jose\u2019s Vietnamese community, according to surveillance footage released by the San Jose Police Department on Wednesday.<\/p>

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San Jose police officials released 17 minutes of security footage showing vandals brazenly breaking into the Vietnamese Heritage Garden last month and pulling down a nine-foot monument depicting a South Vietnamese soldier. In addition to the 1,500-pound statue, the suspects are also accused of taking a Vietnamese, California and United States flag.<\/p>\n

The stolen commercial truck used in the theft was also recovered, police said. Investigators confirmed it had been stolen June 18 from a business on Monterey Road, about three days before the statue theft. The suspects remain unidentified, their motives are unknown and detectives are seeking any information that could assist in the investigation.<\/p>\n

The surveillance footage shows a lone suspect wandering the premises timestamped at 4:19 a.m. and opening a ground-level utility compartment in front of a lamppost. Minutes later, the stolen white truck enters the frame from a field to the north, and a suspect can be seen hunched over the toppled statue. Because the footage is dark and grainy, however, it remains unclear exactly what he was doing, what tools were used or how the monument was initially knocked down.<\/p>\n

At the 4:24 a.m. mark, one suspect backs the truck up toward the monument while the other ties a rope around it. The video concludes with the pair using the vehicle to drag the 1,500-pound statue out toward the gate.<\/p>\n

Following the theft, debris from brick and concrete alongside tire tracks could be seen in front of the monument, leading toward a fence on the north side of the garden.<\/p>\n