Berkeley police investigate necklace 'chain snatch' case
Authorities said this type of crime happens more often than people realize.
A thief distracted a 77-year-old woman with a gift before stealing her $5,000 gold necklace outside Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley last month, police report.
According to police, the victim was standing outside Tokyo Fish Market at 1220 San Pablo Ave. (north of Gilman Street) when a younger female stranger approached her June 15 at about 10:35 a.m.
The stranger offered to give the older woman something, which turned out to be $2 and a yellow gold necklace, according to Berkeley police.
She put the chain around the woman's neck, but didn't stop there, police said.
According to BPD, the thief took the opportunity to unlatch and remove the woman's gold rope necklace valued at $5,000 before getting into the passenger seat of a white BMW SUV occupied by several other people.
She was described as a woman in her 40s ("other race"), 5 foot 3 to 5 foot 4, with a heavy build.
Before leaving, police said, the woman asked a passerby for their wallet; the group fled in the SUV when they refused.
The incident was captured on surveillance video, authorities said.
A subsequent search in Berkeley's Flock camera database helped police identify the SUV, which was registered in Alameda, according to court papers.
BPD quickly put out an alert on the vehicle and heard about it from Alameda police a few days later.
APD said they had spotted the SUV in a parking lot in their city while "investigating a similar chain snatch robbery," BPD wrote.
A Berkeley robbery detective who went to Alameda to check out the SUV could see jewelry in plain view in the center console cup holders, he wrote in court papers.
The SUV also had a fake dealer plate sporting a plate number linked to a different vehicle.
Berkeley police had the BMW towed to a Berkeley impound lot to continue the grand theft investigation.
There have been at least 263 other grand theft reports in Berkeley in 2026, compared to about 275 over a similar period last year, according to BPD data.
The incident was classified as theft rather than robbery because it did not involve force or fear.
Robberies are also down significantly in Berkeley this year, with 71 in 2026 compared to 88 over a similar period last year, according to preliminary data.
