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Police: Serial necklace robbers caught on camera, detectives work to ID suspects

Police are looking to identify suspects in a series of jewelry robberies on the Eastside.

The latest violent robbery was caught on traffic cameras in Bellevue on Saturday.

"There's a suspect who is walking ahead of who turns out to be our victim. At one point he turns around, goes back and very casually and all of a sudden reaches out and grabs the necklace from the neck of the victim," said Major John McCracken with the Investigations Section at the Bellevue Police Department.

According to investigators, the suspects are working together to victimize women wearing necklaces. Many of the victims are from South Asia.

"We don't know if it's the same person doing this, this could be a group of people," said Major McCracken.

The crime spree has members of the India Association of Western Washington worried and warning their community.

"For some Indian women the chain that they wear signifies their married status, it's equivalent to their wedding ring and we do wear it all the time," said Lalita Uppala the Director of Community Program for the Indian Association of Western Washington.  Uppala has had police speak about the crime spree at the North Bellevue Community Center. She told KIRO-7 she stopped wearing her gold necklaces.

The robberies started last August and continued through September and October. At least  nine incidents occurred in Bellevue and Redmond last year.

The robberies started up again this month. On May 8 a woman was robbed in the 3800 block of 148th Avenue at 3 p.m., according to investigators. As cars drove by, a man walked up to her and grabbed the necklace from around her neck.

On May 10 Redmond Police say a woman was on the phone near a bus stop in the 4800 block of 156th Avenue NE.

Police say the suspect slapped the phone out of her hand; when she went to pick it up, he ripped the necklace from her neck. She chased the suspect until he showed the victim a knife.

That victim worked with Redmond police to create a sketch of the suspect.

Last Saturday a woman was walking in the 2900 block of 148th Avenue on the 520 overpass when a man walked up to her, grabbed her necklace and ran.

The victim was violently jerked as the necklace was ripped off.

Police hope that video will help them identify the suspects, in the meantime police have a warning.

"We obviously encourage people not to wear jewelry, visible jewelry, that somebody could target them for," said Major McCracken.

Tips can be made anonymously through Crimestoppers. There is up to a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest, 1-800-222-TIPS.

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