Suspect Tries To Bejewel Victim In South Bay Robbery

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Police in Manhattan Beach are investigating a bizarre robbery that started with a suspect slipping gold jewelry on the victim.

According to the Manhattan Beach Police Department weekly crime report, a man pulled up in a blue sedan or SUV and approached a woman heading up her driveway in the 3400 block of Palm Avenue on Feb. 19. He asked the woman for help finding Whole Foods. He handed her his phone, and told her to speak into the phone for translation because his English wasn't very good, according to police.

"After the victim handed the phone back to the suspect, the suspect grabbed the victim's wrist and tried to put a gold ring and two gold chains on the victim," according to the department's written report. "As the victim pulled away, a female suspect leaned out the rear passenger window and grabbed the victim, pulling the victim's chain off her neck. The victim attempted to gran her chain back, but the male suspect drove the car away, knocking the victim to the ground."

The jewelry the suspect had tried to put on the victim was found in the street and tested for DNA evidence, according to police.

The victim suffered abrasions to her knees.

Detectives canvassed the neighborhood and described the suspects as being from the Middle East. Both had black hair, and the female suspect was described as being in her 40s, and the man appeared to be 30 to 40 years old.