The car in the video barrels straight through the glass storefront, metal frame twisting, alarms blaring. Within seconds, the same cameras that once reassured a small business owner are recording a crime he says nearly cost him his life.
The daytime smash-and-grab at a jewelry store in Anaheim Hills, California, was captured on surveillance video and circulated by local and national outlets, including Fox News. Masked suspects used a vehicle to ram through the entrance, ransacked display cases, stole the owner’s gun, then fled in two getaway cars that later crashed during police pursuits. At least five suspects are in custody, but authorities say more were involved.
What the Video Shows, and What It Does Not
In the footage described by Fox and its Los Angeles affiliate, two men sit inside the jewelry store as a vehicle idles outside, lined up with the front door. The vehicle suddenly accelerates, slamming through the glass and door frame. Shards scatter across the floor.
A second clip shows three figures dressed in black and wearing masks moving quickly through the store, breaking into glass cases and scooping out merchandise. A fourth figure stands near the entrance, appearing to act as a lookout.
Throughout the robbery, one customer or employee seen near the front of the store remains seated, phone in hand, apparently frozen as the scene unfolds. After the crew runs out through the mangled entrance, that same person rushes toward the doorway, apparently recording the suspects as they climb into a white vehicle and drive away. Another person reenters the frame and surveys the damage.
The video offers a clear view of the method of entry, the speed of the theft, and some of the suspects’ movements. It does not provide a full count of everyone involved, show the planning behind the crime, or capture what happened to the stolen items and the firearm once the suspects fled.
A Store Owner Says He Feared Being Shot
The store’s owner, identified by Fox as Ramcy Tabelo, told local station FOX 11 that far more people were involved than the four visible in the main clip. He described an overwhelming rush of masked individuals surging into his shop.
“Eight to ten guys run in with masks, trash cans, and crowbars, hammers, and smash every showcase,” Tabelo said in an on-air interview quoted by Fox News. “My gun was on the table, they grabbed my gun and at that point I thought I was going to get shot.”
That detail, a firearm left on a table and then taken during the robbery, adds a second layer of risk. It transforms the incident from a high-value property crime into a situation that could have turned into a shooting inside a crowded store or later on the street.
As of the Fox report, police had not publicly stated whether that firearm had been recovered. The available reporting also does not say whether the store had a written policy on how firearms should be stored on site, or whether any regulatory body is reviewing that aspect of the incident.
2 Getaway Cars, 2 Crashes, and Fleeing Suspects
After the group fled through the damaged entrance, they entered at least one white vehicle and left the scene. According to Fox, citing information from the Fullerton Police Department, officers quickly began pursuing the getaway cars.
Police told the outlet that both vehicles later crashed during separate pursuits. The first crash involved multiple vehicles. The second reportedly occurred a few minutes later. In both cases, authorities said suspects ran away on foot.
Investigators recovered trays of stolen jewelry from the vehicles, according to the same reporting. Police also told Fox that while all suspects initially fled, at least five individuals had been taken into custody by the time of publication.
Key details remain unclear in the public record. Fox’s story does not identify the arrested suspects by name, list charges, or specify which agencies besides Fullerton police are leading the investigation. It also does not indicate how many suspects investigators believe are still at large, only that officers think a total of about eight were involved.
How Many Suspects Were There?
The discrepancy between what the camera shows and what witnesses and police say they observed is central to understanding the case.
The surveillance video, as described in coverage, clearly presents four masked suspects inside the store during the main portion of the robbery. Tabelo, who experienced the event firsthand, says there were “eight to ten” people rushing in with tools and containers.
Fox reports that police believe eight suspects were involved. It is not clear from the available reporting whether that figure is based on additional surveillance from outside the store, eyewitness accounts, traffic cameras, or statements from people already arrested.
Without charging documents or a public statement identifying the full set of suspects, the exact number of people who coordinated and carried out the heist remains unresolved.
Part of a Larger Pattern of Retail Crime
The Anaheim Hills case did not occur in isolation. In recent years, California has seen a series of organized retail theft incidents, often involving groups working together to overwhelm store staff and quickly steal high-value goods.
Statewide data from the California Department of Justice show that reported property crimes, including burglary and theft, have fluctuated but remain a significant share of overall crime. In the most recent data through 2023, property offenses accounted for the majority of recorded crimes in the state, with burglary making up a substantial portion of those cases, according to the OpenJustice crime statistics portal.
California officials have also highlighted organized retail theft as a specific concern. Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced several multi-agency operations targeting organized shoplifting rings and “smash and grab” groups, emphasizing that these cases can involve coordinated crews, resale networks, and sometimes firearms or other weapons in press releases from the Attorney General’s Office.
What is still not publicly documented in the Anaheim Hills case is whether investigators view this robbery as part of an established crew or network, or as a standalone group crime organized for a single hit.
Security, Firearms, and Investigative Gaps
Several accountability questions emerge from the limited information now available.
First, security and prevention. The store clearly had working cameras that captured detailed footage. The report does not say whether there were additional measures in place, such as reinforced glass, bollards designed to stop vehicles, or remotely triggered locking systems. Those features can be expensive for small businesses, yet vehicle-ramming entries have appeared in multiple retail theft cases across the country.
Second, firearm storage. By the owner’s own account, a gun was left on a table inside the store and was quickly seized by the robbers. State and local rules on firearm storage in commercial settings vary, and the Fox reporting does not indicate whether any regulator or law enforcement agency is reviewing how that weapon was stored or whether any administrative consequences could follow.
Third, public information. At the time of the Fox report, at least five suspects were in custody, yet there was no public breakdown of who they are, how old they are, what precise charges they face, or whether any had prior records for similar crimes. There is also no publicly reported timeline for when additional details, such as arrest affidavits or charging documents, will become available.
Those gaps do not mean that investigators lack answers. Police often withhold some information in active cases. For residents and business owners in Anaheim Hills and neighboring cities, however, they make it harder to assess who is being held accountable and how long remaining suspects might be at large.
What Remains Unclear
From the public record so far, several points are firmly established.
Item 1: A vehicle was intentionally driven through the entrance of an Anaheim Hills jewelry store, as captured on surveillance video and reported by Fox.
Item 2: Multiple masked suspects entered, smashed cases, stole merchandise, and took the owner’s gun, according to that same reporting and the owner’s own account.
Item 3: Two getaway cars crashed during police pursuits, trays of jewelry were recovered, and at least five suspects have been arrested, according to information from the Fullerton Police Department relayed through Fox.
Just as importantly, several elements remain unresolved in public view. Authorities have not publicly detailed how the group was organized, whether the stolen gun has been recovered, or how many suspects they believe are still at large. Without those answers, the video that began as a straightforward record of a crime remains only part of the story.
