Family running San Jose jewelry store tries to recover after smash-and-grab, brutal assault

By CBS Bay Area

For the family that runs Kim Hung Jewelry in San Jose, Sep. 5 is a day they’ll never forget.

What was once a thriving shop now sits boarded up, a reminder of the smash-and-grab robbery that changed everything. The family said 10 people stormed their San Jose store, after a stolen Jeep rammed into the storefront.

Surveillance video shows the suspects smashing display cases and grabbing whatever they could before fleeing. During the chaos, the family’s 88-year-old uncle, the man who built and ran the business, was shoved to the ground.

“It’s very sudden, and it’s very panicked,” said one family member, who agreed to speak but asked not to share her name. “You cannot imagine this happening to you.”

Since then, the store has been closed its entrance covered with plywood and steel gates. The family said they’re still paying rent and expenses while they wait for the insurance process to move forward.

“The business is closed. But we still pay rent. We still pay for everything in the store. You can’t not pay, right?” she said.

Her uncle remains at home recovering. Family members have urged him not to return once the shop reopens, worried the trauma runs deeper than the visible damage.

“His health is getting better, but he’s still traumatized,” she said.

As for the investigation, San Jose police say they’ve made progress. On Oct. 3, seven people between the ages of 18 and 23 were arrested from across the Bay Area, including Dublin, Pacifica, San Jose, and Antioch. This week, an eighth suspect was arrested in Oakland.

Police said they are still searching for at least two more suspects connected to the case.

For the family, the arrests bring only limited comfort. The store remains shuttered… the damage still visible, the pain still raw.

“When I look at it, I just get more sad,” she said. “I get more frustrated, and I just ask, why?”

The family says their hope is to reopen in the next few months. Until then, they say they’ll keep speaking out not for attention, but to remind others that even when the cameras leave and the crime tape comes down, the healing takes much longer.

“So please,” she said. “Don’t do it. Go to school. Have a successful life. This is not a life.”