Suspect sentenced to prison for violent Rolex robbery in San Francisco
By Bryan Ke
One of the suspects behind the violent Rolex robbery of two men in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 2019 has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Dashawn Pierson, 22, appeared in front of Judge Loretta Giorgi at the San Francisco Superior Court, where his sentencing was read, on Tuesday.
Pierson and two other assailants, identified as Akeem Smith and Christopher Jefferson, were previously arrested for the strong-arm robbery and assault on Walter Wong and Chang Hwang, two elderly leaders of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, in July 2019.
Since Pierson’s defense lawyer and San Francisco’s District Attorney’s Office reportedly entered a plea deal on the assault and elderly abuse charges, the case did not go to trial.
Pierson is expected to be released from prison later this year, however, as he has already served most of his time in jail before his sentencing. He was arrested in October 2019 at the age of 19.
Meanwhile, Smith, 22, entered a similar plea deal, while Jefferson, 24, still has a pending case. The two men were arrested in 2020.
Speaking to The San Francisco Standard via an interpreter, Wong said that he “still hopes to get his watch back someday.”
He also said he was happy and relieved to see the men sentenced for their crimes.
The court notably ordered Pierson to pay Wong back for the Rolex.
The incident occurred while Wong and Hwang were crossing the street at Stockton near Pacific in San Francisco’s Chinatown on July 15, 2019.
Pierson, Smith and Jefferson were spotted by a surveillance camera right before the broad daylight robbery as they were about to cross the street.
“The three do appear to be talking and walking quickly with some purpose as if they have a destination or something in mind,” police spokesperson Sgt. Michael Andraychek said at the time.
After the three assailants took Wong’s Rolex and fled the scene, Wong and Hwang were transported to the hospital to treat their head injuries.
Following the incident, San Francisco’s Chinatown community rallied behind the victims as they denounced what was recorded as the eight violent broad daylight attack in the neighborhood as of July 2019.
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