SF Jeweler Suffers $250K Loss From Burglary

San Francisco CA

01 December, 2021

5:34 PM

Description

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Rosita Young and her husband have owned their jewelry store in San Francisco's Chinatown for nearly 40 years. Last month their store fell victim to a smash-and-grab burglary, which cost them $250,000 in merchandise, according to the couple's GoFundMe page. Young, 78, said she was woken up by police after 4 a.m. on Nov. 16 by San Francisco Police who were trying to inform her of the burgary, she said in a video posted to Twitter. Thieves broke four display cases and snatched all of the jewelry in the store in just three minutes, she said in the video posted by state Assembly candidate Bilal Mahmood. Young also told the San Francisco Chronicle that she wouldn't be able to claim any of her insurance coverage since her policy doesn't cover thefts in the evening unless items were in a safe. "That hurt me so much," she told the newspaper. "I lost a lot." Long Boat Jewelry on Grand Street has offered jewelry imported from Hong Kong since 1983 years, and now Young says they may be forced to close their doors. Nancy Tung, who previously ran for San Francisco district attorney, launched a GoFundMe account for Young, which had raised more than $7,700 as of Wednesday afternoon. "Increasing violence against Asian American people and businesses, rising costs, and a downturn in tourism is hurting our community, and people like Rosita and her husband," Tung wrote. "Let's support this Chinatown business so it can continue to thrive in San Francisco." Young's store was robbed just a few days before swaths of thieves descended on Union Square and a Nordstrom in Walnut Creek. The onslaught of burglaries in the Bay Area prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to ask law enforcement agencies to increase patrols in and around highly trafficked areas during the holiday season. "These brazen acts will not be tolerated in San Francisco," San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a statement. Last week, Newsom said he had no "sympathy or empathy" for people involved with such crimes, KCRA reported. "We want people prosecuted and we want people to feel safe," Newsom told reporters. "They must be held to account." GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.