5 people arrested in Concord smash-and-grab jewelry heist

Five suspects were arrested days after a smash-and-grab jewelry store robbery at Concord's Sun Valley Mall over the weekend, police announced on Thursday.

The incident happened at the Banter jewelry kiosk inside the mall on Sunday at about 1:24 p.m. The Concord Police Department said in a press release that multiple 911 calls came in reporting the robbery, and when officers arrived they learned that at least four people smashed display cases at the kiosk. A patron was also pepper sprayed during the robbery, police said.

The suspects fled before officers arrived. Police said investigators coordinated with the San Francisco Police Department, including sharing real-time intelligence, to quickly identify five suspects. Each of the suspects are San Francisco or Daly City residents who were ultimately located in the city of Richmond. They were identified as Cameron Haynes, 21; Terry Franklin, 29; Lavar Kent, 18; Eric Howard, 18: and Teric Howard, 20.

All five were taken arrested on charges related to the robbery, as well as various additional offenses. Police said stolen jewelry from the business was recovered along with multiple firearms.

There have been at least three other recent robberies at Sun Valley Mall in recent months, including one days before Sunday's incident. On June 23, police said two masked suspects grabbed the necklaces off a victim following a struggle and fled. Police later arrested two juveniles. 

On May 13, an employee was pepper-sprayed during another smash-and-grab robbery involving four suspects at the Pierciing Pagoda kiosk at the mall. A similar robbery happened in December just days before Christmas.