OAKLAND — Four men have been sentenced to 36 to 42 months in federal prison for their roles in a takeover robbery of Heller’s Jewelers in San Ramon last year.
It was a brazen, well-choreographed daytime robbery in which masked gunmen forced their way into the store while frightened onlookers fled, then took dozens of Rolex watches, necklaces and other valuables worth an estimated $1.1 million. Their undoing was that one of the pieces secretly contained a GPS tracking device, which ultimately allowed the cops to monitor the group throughout the day, then track down their identities one by one.
Now, all but one of the five defendants — 36-year-old Ryan Kentrell Montgomery — has pleaded guilty and been sentenced. Montgomery is out of custody while the case is pending, court records show.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin handed down the four prison terms. Sunia Mafileo Faavesi, 31, and John Ioane Tupou, 31, each received a 42-month prison term. Paul Christopher Tonga, 34, and Kyle Vehikite, 35, were both sentenced to three years in federal prison.
They also must pay victim restitution and fines, and serve a three-year supervised release term after they’re let out of prison, records show.
The five were arrested in August 2023, save Tupou, who remained a fugitive until police in Oakland arrested him during a September 2023 raid of an illegal gambling shack. The cops were searching for murder suspects unrelated to Tupou and simply stumbled upon him there, according to court records.
Before arresting Tupou, police conducted a raid at a Bay Area residence where they expected to find him. Instead, they found six guns, an armor vest, 2,300 rounds of ammunition, and arrested several suspected Tre-4 gang members at the location, according to court records.
Defense attorneys for the group lauded them for accepting responsibility through guilty pleas and through apology letters. Tupou, for instance, apologized publicly to the victims and his own family.
“I feel bad for the victims of the Heller Jewelers and their families. I deeply regret what I have done and recognize the trauma and financial damages my actions have caused them,” he wrote in an apology letter filed in court. “I know my actions have also impacted the community of San Ramon. I am sorry for the harm I caused.”
The robbery occurred in March 2023. Police believe that afterwards, two of the defendants attempted to launder money at California casinos. The investigation also revealed that a civilian who worked inside a Bay Area police department was relaying information to Tonga. Authorities identified a person of interest as a woman who worked in a police department in the South Bay, but she has not yet been charged, according to court records.