Courier Loses Diamonds, Cash in Attack

LAGUNA HILLS â€”  A jewelry courier was robbed of a satchel of diamonds and cash Tuesday, the fourth such robbery in Orange County in two weeks.

The 37-year-old Laguna Beach courier, who police did not identify, had just left the First Federal Bank in the 24000 block of Avenida de la Carlota at 12:44 p.m. and had placed the satchel of diamonds and cash in the back seat of his car when he was attacked, Sheriff’s Lt. Lynn Nehring said.

The courier locked the door and, before he could get into the car himself, was attacked and knocked to the ground, Nehring said. The robber broke the driver’s side window to unlock the car, he said.

The robber fled with the satchel in a white American model car. Nehring would not disclose the value of the bag’s contents.

There have been nearly 100 often violent attacks on jewelers in Orange County in the last year. Police have said that surge may be the result of a crackdown by a special task force in Los Angeles, causing the robbers to move south.

Last Thursday, six men surrounded a saleswoman as she drove into a jewelry store parking lot off Crown Valley Parkway in Mission Viejo. The woman, who was carrying cash and loose gems in a briefcase, was able to get away after ramming another car.

The day before in Westminster, three men carjacked a jewelry courier at gunpoint and escaped with a briefcase of diamonds valued at nearly $130,000.

On the same day, a jewelry store owner in Fullerton was robbed of several thousands in front of his store.

In most of the robberies, including Tuesday’s, the attackers were Latino. Authorities have said the robbers are connected to a crime syndicate of Colombian nationals.