An Oakland man has been convicted by a Contra Costa County jury on multiple counts, including armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, following a series of high-end watch thefts, as reported by Contra Costa County officials.
As per court documents, Shane Ivan Downs, 27, engaged in a spate of robberies in 2020 and 2021 where he tracked his victims from public settings to their residences and there committed the armed robberies, taking watches valued between $3,500 and $15,000; covering his face to hide his identity, he executed the robberies with calculated precision.
Downs's April 18, 2021 spree included a robbery in Oakley where a woman's Rolex was taken and a subsequent assault in Concord where a Panerai Luminor watch was forcibly stolen, according to the same county officials.
The investigation, which led to Downs's conviction, involved tracing vehicle details, executing search warrants, and analyzing cell phone records and surveillance footage, culminating in a robust case despite the jury's decision to acquit him of a related July 2020 Orinda robbery due to insufficient evidence, the broader narrative of Downs's crime reflects a worrying trend of targeted follow-home robberies in affluent areas.
Deputy District Attorney Kevin Cunnane, who prosecuted the case, expressed satisfaction, saying by Contra Costa District Attorney, "We are pleased the evidence presented resulted in the Defendant being held accountable for these dangerous robberies." Shane Ivan Downs now awaits sentencing, set for November 15, by The Honorable Charles Burch, and faces the possibility of extensive prison time for his crimes.
