A brazen highway robbery in San Diego’s north county area netted armed thieves over $120,000 in jewelry and cash from a man who says he was on his way to Orange County Friday evening, according to officials.
Authorities report the ordeal began at about 8:25 p.m. on the north side of Interstate 5, just north of Harbor Drive in Oceanside.
The robbery victim spoke to NBC San Diego about what happened, but chose to remain anonymous as he was still shaken up about the crime. Authorities said he was an employee of "Brilliant Diamonds" in La Palma, California.
According to victim, he was driving to Orange County when a truck or SUV pulled up alongside his car and practically ran him off the road.
At the time, the man, who is a jewelry wholesaler, was carrying between $120,000 and $125,000 worth of jewelry and stones after leaving a jewelry store in the El Cajon area where he had just completed a transaction, he said.
As the vehicles closed in on the victim, he said the suspect's vehicle pulled up behind him very closely and started flashing their high beams. Believing that the person needed help, the victim began to slow down his car, authorities said.
At that moment, another car pulled up to the victim’s driver side, rolled down their vehicle's window and flashed a gun, telling him pull over. While this was happening, the car that was behind the victim had pulled in front of him, according to authorities.
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The victim said he was scared and so he pulled over to the shoulder of the I-5.
Once the vehicles had come to a stop, an armed suspect came over to the victim's vehicle, pointed a gun at him and demanded he hand over the jewelry and some cash.
Once the victim complied, the thieves took the merchandise and an undetermined amount of cash and left, authorities said. The driver called 911 and authorities from California Highway Patrol and Oceanside police responded to the scene.
The victim said he doesn’t know how long the suspects had been following him as he drove from the store to the highway. The man declined to say which store in El Cajon he left prior to the robbery taking place.
San Diego County Sheriff’s officials have taken over the investigation and are trying to track down the suspects.
Authorities have yet to release a description of the suspects.
