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Someone broke into a home in Cupertino by prying open a screen and entering through an open kitchen window. The thief then stole approximately $20,000 worth of jewelry from a master bedroom. That was Nov. 18 at 7:42 p.m. That same evening, at 6:05, someone broke into another Cupertino home by removing a screen and pushing a window open. The thief ransacked the master bedroom, taking $24,100 in jewelry before leaving through a sliding door.
The crimes are similar to 50 other burglaries targeting the South-Asian and Asian communities in Sunnyvale and Cupertino this year.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Lt. Marty Dale said officers believe it may be an issue of targeting because those two ethnic groups are the victims of a disproportionate number of crimes.
So far the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Westside Substation, which polices Cupertino, and the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety are stymied about who is responsible for the crimes, and are seeking the community's help.
The sheriff's office, looking for help, organized a community forum on the issue Nov. 17. Two detectives, a district attorney and two FBI special agents also attended the forum since similar burglaries have also occured in Sunnyvale.
Dale said Sunnyvale's DPS had received a number of calls from concerned residents, who were referred to the community forum. He also said the majority of these crimes seem to be in the south parts of Sunnyvale, near the border with Cupertino.
"We didn't get any good leads," said John Hirokawa, a captain with the substation. "We were hoping somebody we didn't already know about would come forward and say for example, there are these kids we know about."
The week of Thanksgiving, for instance, such input helped the sheriff's office track down juveniles allegedly involved in robberies in Saratoga.
In Cupertino, such help could come in the form of a witness describing burglars or writing down the license plate of a suspicious car.
"That gives us something to investigate with," Hirokawa said. At the moment the substation is frustrated by its lack of leads from recovered property, fingerprints or witnesses.
The sheriff's office is also looking into possibly related crimes in Milpitas and Fremont and investigating gang activity, particularly among South Asians. Such possible gang activity sparked the interest of the FBI's organized crime unit, although it is not yet collaborating with the sheriff's office.
Instead, they met frustration as the audience expected an update on progress made in solving the crimes. Hirokawa hopes this changes and the community will help officials crack the case. "We're still searching," Hirokawa said.
Jason Goldman-Hall contributed to this article.
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