Suspects grab woman, try to put ring on her finger in bizarre South Bay robbery

The Manhattan Beach Police Department is investigating after a woman said two people in a vehicle grabbed her, attempted to put a ring on her finger and then dragged her to the ground as they drove off.

It happened around noon on Feb. 19 on the 3400 block of Palm Avenue in Manhattan Beach, according to the Police Department’s monthly crime report.

The victim contacted police after she was robbed by two people in a blue sedan. According to police, the victim was walking up to her driveway when the vehicle pulled up and the driver called out to her to ask for directions.

The driver, described as a Middle Eastern man in his 30s or 40s, handed the victim his cellphone and asked her to talk to translate because his English wasn’t very good.

After translating and handing the phone back, the driver grabbed her by the wrist and tried to slip a gold ring onto her finger and two gold chains around her neck.

As she pulled away, a passenger, a Middle Eastern woman of similar age with black hair, reached out of the back window and grabbed the victim by the chain she was already wearing, ripping it off her neck.

The victim fought back, police said, holding onto her own jewelry before the driver sped off, dragging her to the ground.

When police arrived, the woman had suffered scrapes to her knees, but was otherwise OK. The jewelry that the man attempted to put on her was recovered nearby and was collected for DNA, police said.

Detectives have since canvassed the neighborhood for video surveillance. The police report did not state if they were successful in finding any video of the incident.

The crime is being treated as a robbery, and the investigation is described as ongoing.

Anyone with information about the suspects involved is urged to contact the Manhattan Beach Police Department at 310-545-4566. Security footage can be emailed directly to detectives at eyewitness@manhattanbeach.gov.