Two men are held without bail in Santa Clara County following an arraignment Friday for what prosecutors said was a spree of over 40 incidents targeting mostly Asian women across the Bay Area.
Derje Blanks, 23, and Anthony Robinson, 24, were arraigned Friday afternoon at the San Jose Hall of Justice after the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office charged the pair for their roles in dozens of robberies and purse-snatchings since late last year. The pair is being held without bail at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas, according to booking information from the Santa Clara County Department of Correction.
Prosecutors alleged in a news release on Friday the duo targeted women they believed carried cash, citing evidence Blanks and Robinson believed Asian women don't use banks. Blanks and Robinson were accused of following their alleged victims to their cars before smashing the passenger-side window or quickly opening the passenger door to steal a purse, as well as referring to them by ethnic slurs.
Santa Clara County officials said there were more than 40 "incidents" involving the pair in cities within Santa Clara County (San Jose, Campbell and Milpitas), as well as Alameda (Dublin, Fremont, Hayward, Newark and San Leandro), Contra Costa (San Pablo) and San Mateo (East Palo Alto) counties.
Other alleged crimes are "being investigated by additional agencies," according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, and the county said it is still investigating additional suspects.
"We will hold these defendants and anyone who worked with them fully accountable for their ignorant and destructive behavior," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement, thanking the San Jose Police Department for its "hard work" solving "this dangerous criminal spree."
The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office said in a release that Blanks and Robinson were arrested on Sept. 10, but county booking information showed the pair was booked a day prior. Prosecutors said Blanks crashed his car into an unmarked police car before trying to flee on foot, while Robinson crashed into another car in a subsequent getaway attempt. Robinson "severely" injured a 2-year-old in that accident, according to prosecutors.
Blanks is represented by Defense Attorney Patrick Coughlin as his lead attorney, while Robinson is represented by the Santa Clara County Alternate Defender Office, according to Santa Clara Superior Court calendars. The Santa Clara County Public Defender Office is also listed as part of Blanks’ counsel, necessitating the Alternate Defender because the former can only represent one person in cases where multiple people face charges.
California experienced a 107% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes last year, according to data released in June by the California Attorney General's Office. State Attorney General Rob Bonta said in June that, overall, hate crimes in California were at their highest levels in over a decade.
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