Three guys were arrested on Monday in connection with a string of robberies in the San Francisco Bay Area that targeted Asian Americans.
Joel Contreras Barron, 26, Francisco Rincon, 28, and Juan Rodriguez-Ramirez, 26, are accused of 13 robberies, five grand thefts, and “countless” car break-ins. The acts are said to have happened from December 2022 to February of this year.
Rodriguez-Ramirez, who lives in Richmond, California, was the first person picked up by cops on February 25. Barron, who lives in Antioch, California, was caught on April 14 after breaking into cars at the Grand Century Mall. Rincon, who also lives in Richmond, was caught on April 26.
During later searches, the police allegedly found stolen items, around $6,000 in cash, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition.
On multiple criminal charges, the three were taken to the Santa Clara County Main Jail and the San Joaquin County Jail. Prosecutors are still deciding if hate crime enhancements should be added.
According to NBC Bay Area, Deputy District Attorney Charles Huang said, “It’s very hard to prove a hate crime unless someone says something very specific that they’re doing this crime to hurt a protected class.”
Recent arrests in the Bay Area for acts like these led to the arrests.
Three men who were arrested on April 17 are now being charged with hate crimes because they are said to have robbed Asian Americans earlier that day.
On March 30 and April 13, police caught three more people who they thought were stealing from Asian Americans.
Another person was caught and charged with hate crimes for robberies that happened from April to August of last year.
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