Fil-Am robbed at Filipino market parking lot in Daly City. Here’s how to stay safe

Snatcher startles a lone shopper about to enter her car at the parking lot of a popular Filipino market. Photo by Cherie M. Querol Moreno

DALY CITY, Calif. – A spur of the moment stop at a market on the edge of a relatively quiet residential area here gave a Filipina American an experience she says she’ll never forget.

Gloria Alcantara’s birthday was coming up and she had planned to drive straight home from work on Friday, July 12, but a text from a sister to pick up purple yams called for a stop at Manila Oriental Market.

The expansive market is an anchor business at the shopping mall on Callan Boulevard and King Drive, a stone’s throw from the border of South San Francisco.

Alcantara parked her car near the center of the lot, leaving her purse in the vehicle and taking only her wallet. She strode in and bought the items requested.  She didn’t linger.  Her mind was on the get-together her siblings had planned for Sunday as she walked toward an unexpected encounter.

“It was a matter of seconds at the parking lot as I was entering my car when a vehicle pulled over behind mine and a guy came out with his arms raised, so I thought he was someone I knew or who knew me,” she recalled the incident.

“He approached me and suddenly grabbed my wallet and jumped back into the waiting vehicle,” the medical legal coordinator told Inquirer.net USA.

The startled Alcantara ran after the fleeing car, pounding on the door to give her wallet back.

“I’ve heard about smash and grab robberies, but I never thought it could happen here, in broad daylight, to me,” she said.  In hindsight, she knew her reaction was risky, but her thoughts were on recovering her cards and protecting her privacy.

Ironically her unwise decision to leave her purse in the car kept her cellphone safe.

Her experience reflects a trend concerning authorities.

Similar attacks

Aggressive shoplifters and smash-and-snatchers have been hitting stores with impunity as retailers make attempts to recover their merchandise but back off when threatened with weapons, to avoid escalating violence. Burglars have been breaking into parked cars, prompting increased presence of loss prevention officers and security guards in commercial centers.

The crime wave that once preyed on high tourist traffic in cities has rolled over to the suburbs.

Brazen thieves have accosted shoppers outside stores, often picking on women getting in or out of their vehicles.

The Daly City Police Dept. issues a regular bulletin to alert residents of criminal activity. Photo by Cherie M. Querol Moreno

In its July 15-21 crime alert bulletin to the community, the Daly City Police Department reported that on July 20 “an officer was dispatched to a parking lot on the 300 block of Gellert Boulevard on a report of a stolen purse.”

The case was similar to but more violent than Alcantara’s.

“The victim stated that she entered her vehicle, and seconds later, a suspect tried to open her door but was unsuccessful, as she had locked it. The suspect proceeded to break the front passenger window with a device and grabbed the victim’s” purse and belongings, according to the report.  The assailant “ran to an awaiting gray Lexus.”

The report said the victim’s purse was recovered but without the cash and key fob.  They arrested and booked the suspect whom they described as a 19-year-old resident of Pleasant Hill, a city east of San Francisco Bay.

The community bulletin for the previous week noted that around 5:30 pm on July 12 an officer responded to a report of a robbery at a gas station “on the 300 block of Gellert Boulevard.”

“The victim stated that as she was sitting in her vehicle, a suspect exited a gray Lexus GS350 with tinted windows, smashed her vehicle’s front passenger window with a hammer, took her purse containing a wallet” and contents before hopping back onto the car heading west, according to the report.

The same bulletin noted that at around 5:36 pm that same day, an officer responded to a report of a robbery on the 900 block of King Drive. That was Alcantara’s case.

In her trauma, Alcantara could not describe the snatcher except for the fact that he was wearing sunglasses and dark clothes with a hoodie.  She said she did not remember the make of the getaway car but was “100 percent sure” it was dark gray four-door sedan with tinted windows.

Later her sisters comforted her with the reminder that she was lucky she was not injured, although she had sprained her wrist banging on the fleeing car in her attempt to retrieve her wallet.

The 21-year resident of Daly City is thankful she is unhurt, and she is willing to speak up to help authorities make her home city a safe place for residents of all ages and genders.

The mother of a teen-age daughter reached out to Mayor Juslyn Manalo for assistance.

Mayor responds 

Manalo acknowledged the persistence of muggers in her city and related how the police department has responded.

“We have increased patrols, but they are hitting at King Plaza and Serramonte area gas stations, but no specific pattern or trend to focus resources on at this point,” she told Inquirer.net USA.

Mayor Juslyn Manalo responds to constituent seeking assistance. Photo by Cherie M. Querol Moreno

King Plaza, site of Manila Oriental Market, is home to Asian-owned restaurants and shops.  It is home to Classic Bowl, a popular family-friendly entertainment spot owned by Filipino-Italian Americans.  Ling Nam, which became famous in Manila for its hot noodle soup, moved into the location more recently.

The thieves employ various means of evading law enforcement, Manalo added.

“They put on different stolen license plates every time (which aren’t reported stolen yet) so the ALPRs (Automated License Plate Recognition) haven’t been a solution.  Even when we get a plate after the crime, they ditch the plate so we don’t know what we are actually looking for.”

Technology plays a significant role in curbing the problem.

“We have a detective assigned and are working with whatever technological options we have to identify,” said Manalo.

As authorities explore tactical measures to combat the issue, the mayor offered safety tips with the public:

• Be aware of your surroundings and try to keep valuables out of sight of others, even in your vehicle (don’t leave purse on passenger seat).

• Try to stay in well-lit areas, or areas with other customers during the day to reduce being targeted.

• Acknowledge suspicious behavior by making eye contact, communicating with store staff or other customers to draw attention.

• If something seems suspicious, call 911.

Gloria Alcantara is definitely wiser now.  She would rather not run errands anymore, she says, unless she is in the company of her fiancé, a deputy sheriff in Santa Clara County.

Together they are monitoring developments on her case in hopes of helping entrepreneurs work with authorities to protect patrons and the general public.