$300,000 in Computer Chips Taken in Holdup

Four men forced their way into a Simi Valley computer materials company, held a gun to an employee’s head and stole more than $300,000 worth of memory chips, police said Friday.

Ventura Technology Group at 855 Easy St. was robbed Thursday night by the foursome, including one man who was armed with two guns, Simi Valley Police Sgt. Bob Gardner said.

The company, located in a west side industrial park, was closed when the robbery occurred but a production technician was working, Gardner said.

A receptionist said the technician, 22-year-old Donald Hummel of Simi Valley, was not at work Friday. Police would not say if he was injured during the holdup.

The robbery is the second-largest computer materials holdup in the county this year. In March, Anacapa Micro Products in Ventura was robbed by five armed Asian males in their 20s who bound and gagged several employees before carting off computer chips, hard drives and computer boards valued at more than $500,000.

The Simi Valley robbers were described as Asian males in their 20s who were each wearing light-colored pants and shirts, Gardner said.

The sergeant said it was too early to determine whether the holdups are connected.

“Our detectives will be following up and talking to other agencies that have had similar crimes,” Gardner said.

Authorities say this type of theft is frequent in Los Angeles and the Silicon Valley, and that such holdups are often the work of well-organized, young Asian gangs.

The Simi Valley robbery began about 7:30 p.m. as Hummel was about to take a dinner break, Gardner said. As he was leaving the business, he was confronted by the four men, who forced Hummel back into the building, Gardner said.

It was unclear when a gun was held to Hummel’s head.

Once inside, Hummel was ordered to help open several locked safes where the computer chips were stored, police said.

Hummel was then restrained--police declined to say how--as the robbers carried out several boxes of chips.

In the earlier Ventura holdup, the stolen materials were retrieved from locked cages. Authorities say the most valuable materials at computer warehouses are often stored in safes or locked cages.

As of Friday, it had not been determined how many chips had been taken from the Simi Valley business, but Gardner said the chips ranged in value from $1.15 apiece to $42. The chips can be used on all makes and models of computers, he said.

After the robbers left, Hummel was able to free himself and call police, who arrived about 8:15 p.m.

The robbery was not the first time Simi Valley has been targeted by thieves interested in pricey computer items.

In May 1993, six bandits wearing ski masks sliced through a chain-link fence at CF Motorfreight and left with two tractor-trailers filled with computers valued at $400,000.

Police say once the stolen merchandise is in hand, crooks will often stash it in abandoned buildings, boarded-up basements or cluttered junk yards for a time. Some will fence the products locally or ship them across country or to Mexico to make it harder for law enforcement officers to track, experts say.

“There’s obviously a market because computer chips are expensive,” Gardner said.