One suspect is now in custody - and arrest warrants are out for three other suspects - from the Pasha Fine Jewelry smash-and-grab robbery that shocked Manhattan Beach in the summer of 2022.

"Sometimes the justice train is a little slow, but it's coming," said Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rachel Johnson Johnson, in announcing the arrest. "It's a win for our community that those folks will be brought to justice."

Johnson announced the long-awaited arrest as part of her remarks at the State of the City event hosted by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, April 29.

The 2022 Pasha robbery occurred on June 24, 2022 just before 7:00 p.m., when it was still light outside and when the downtown was bustling with diners and shoppers. Multiple suspects entered the jewelry store, used hammers to break display cases, and fled the store with miscellaneous merchandise. The suspects entered awaiting vehicles and fled the scene southbound in an alley. At least three suspects were armed with what appeared to be handguns, but no shots were fired.   

The robbery sent shock waves through the town, piercing the calm on what had otherwise been a typical summer night in the downtown area, and setting residents on edge. "We hadn't seen a brazen act like that before," said Johnson (who was not yet chief at the time of the 2022 robbery). 

The event prompted the city to increase patrols in commercial and residential areas.

Nevertheless, robbers struck Pasha in a second smash-and-grab robbery in March 2023. Seven suspects were arrested in that robbery - including two juveniles - and the five adults from that case are all serving time in state prison.

Although the 2023 Pasha robbery had been resolved relatively quickly, police had continued to ask for for patience as they put in an "astonishing" amount of detective work to bring the criminals from the 2022 Pasha robbery to justice.