A third man has been arrested in a string of purse snatches and robberies allegedly targeting Asian women in the Bay Area, according to San Jose Police.
Cameron Alonzo Moody, 27 of East Palo Alto was arrested Sept. 16 in Union City and officers said two loaded firearms were found, including a ghost gun. Police said Moody was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on felony robbery charges.
Derje Damond Blanks, 23, of San Jose, and Anthony Michael Robinson, 24, of Stockton, were arrested Sept. 8 in San Jose, according to authorities. Robinson fled in a car and crashed into another car, injuring a father and his two-year-old, police said. Blanks and Robinson were booked on 70 counts of felony robbery into Santa Clara County Jail.
The men are accused of targeting Asian women in “dozens of robberies” in the Bay Area and some of the victims were injured, police said. The Santa Clara County District Attorney has also charged the men with hate crimes.
The men were involved in more than 40 incidents starting in late 2020, spanning San Jose, San Pablo, Hayward, East Palo Alto, Newark Fremont, San Leandro, Campbell, Dublin and Milpitas, with more agencies investigating additional crimes, the district attorney’s office said Friday.
The suspects targeted Asian women because they believed they “don’t use banks” and would be carrying cash, authorities said. Ethnic slurs were allegedly used against some of the women and officials said the men followed the victims to their cars in parking lots and waited until they were inside before opening the door or breaking a window to snatch a purse from their passenger seat.