Mission Viejo jewelry store,courier was stabbed and robbed

A courier was stabbed and robbed Tuesday of more than $50,000 in cash, jewelry and rare coins during a confrontation at a Mission Viejo jewelry store, authorities said.

The courier had just picked up a Rolex watch, cash, some rare coins and possibly some diamonds from Saachi Jewelry in the 27000 block of La Paz about 12:30 p.m. when the robbery took place, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

A vehicle drove up behind the courier after he got into his car, Amormino said. Two men reportedly got out of the car, and one broke the front passenger-side window on the courier's car. The second walked to the driver's window, stabbed the courier and grabbed a bag containing the cash and jewelry.
One of the men slashed a tire on the courier's car before the two robbers got into a car driven by a third man, Amormino said. Authorities believe they drove away on La Paz, possibly to the I-5.
The courier was taken to Mission Hospital with knife wounds to his arm and left hand.
Investigators believe the robbers may have been following the courier before the incident.
Authorities described the man who stabbed the courier as a white male, and the man who broke out his window and slashed his tire as a black male. Both are about 5-foot-6, 150 pounds and in their mid-20s, officials said.
Couriers and local jewelry stores have been the target in numerous incidents in the past year.
On June 9, two men followed a jeweler home to a gated community in Tustin, with a man on a motorcycle grabbing $100,000 to $250,000 worth of jewelry as the driver of a pickup pulled up behind the jeweler's car.
On June 11, three men stole an undisclosed amount of money from a courier during a strong-arm robbery at a jewelry store in the District at Tustin Legacy, with one man breaking the courier's car windows with a pipe and another punching him in the mouth.
In South County, a series of jewelry store robberies culminated June 24 with an employee at Monaco Jewelers in San Juan Capistrano shooting and killing two men attempting to carry out a robbery, while a third man escaped.
In North County, a series of well-coordinated jewelry robberies late last year in Santa Ana, Fullerton, Brea, Placentia and Anaheim were believed to be carried out by members of gangs operating out of Los Angeles County.
Authorities don't know whether the latest incident is tied to previous robberies.