A suspect walked into a business in the 6000 block of Pacific Avenue around 7 pm on July 27, forcibly took a victim's necklace, and then fled on foot, according to the Stockton Police Department. Investigators are now asking the public to help identify the person caught on surveillance images from the confrontation.
The case is being publicized through the department's weekly Stockton Police Department social media feature known as “Who's That Wednesday,” which posts surveillance photos of unidentified suspects in hopes that someone in the community will recognize them. The department has logged the incident under case number 26-20956. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators directly.
How the Tip Program Works
Tipsters who want to remain anonymous can go through Stockton Crime Stoppers, which accepts information online at stocktoncrimestoppers.org or by phone at 946-0600. Anonymous tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward if their information leads to an arrest. Stockton Crime Stoppers Inc. also fields tips through the P3 Tips mobile app, which enables anonymous submissions without revealing a caller's name, phone number, or IP address, according to background provided by the City of Stockton.
The “Who's That Wednesday” campaign has a track record of generating results. As previously reported by ABC10, the weekly crowd-sourcing effort once prompted a sexual battery suspect to turn himself in after he recognized his own photo circulating online, illustrating how the department leans on platforms like Facebook to jog public memory and surface investigative leads.
A Familiar Stretch of Pacific Avenue
This isn't the first time police have responded to trouble along this particular commercial corridor. Watch Commander records show a June 2025 attempted robbery in the same 6000 block, in which a 26-year-old store employee was assaulted after confronting a suspect who was stealing merchandise. Pacific Avenue is one of Stockton's primary commercial thoroughfares and sees frequent retail-related police responses, per those records.
Legally, forcibly taking personal property directly from someone's person — such as tearing away a necklace — is treated differently than ordinary theft. Under California Penal Code Section 211, that kind of forcible taking is classified as second-degree robbery, a felony that carries a statutory prison sentence of two, three, or five years, according to the Shouse Law Group. Any conviction under that statute also counts as a violent felony “strike” under California's Three Strikes law, a designation that stays on a person's record permanently and increases prison exposure for any future felony conviction, according to Virtuoso Criminal and DUI Lawyers.
Part of a Broader Property Crime Picture
The Pacific Avenue case surfaces as San Joaquin County law enforcement ramps up attention on retail and commercial crime more broadly. Earlier this week, California Highway Patrol officers wrapped up targeted blitz operations across the Stockton, Lodi, and Roseville regions, resulting in 12 arrests and the recovery of dozens of stolen items, according to the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
Local reporting has noted that while reported robberies and burglaries in Stockton dropped in early 2025, larceny and theft offenses remained persistent, pushing police to lean more on public crowd-sourcing for grab-and-go type incidents, as Stocktonia has reported. Statewide, the picture has been improving overall: data compiled by the Public Policy Institute of California shows California's violent crime rate fell 5.3% in 2024, with robberies down 7.5% statewide, though total violent crime remained 9.8% higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
Stockton Police Department statistics show the scale of what local investigators are working through — the department logged 62 robbery cases citywide in February 2025 alone, bringing that year's two-month robbery total to 123 reported incidents. It's unclear whether the victim in the July 27 incident suffered any physical injuries during the confrontation, or whether the surveillance footage offers a clear view of the suspect's face or the direction he fled, as those details were not included in the department's public appeal.
The Pacific Avenue case follows other recent Stockton crime appeals covered by Hoodline, including a stabbing that left a Stockton man chasing his attacker earlier this month. For now, police are relying on the same tools that have worked before: a public photo, a case number, and the hope that someone recognizes a face.
