Man Beat, Robbed Woman Of $130K Hermès Bag In Greenwich, Warrant Says

GREENWICH, CT — A 23-year-old New York man and others are accused of beating, robbing and seriously injuring a woman for a $130,000 Hermès handbag last December in Greenwich, according to an arrest warrant.

Police said in the warrant they believe that Jiahao Wu, of Elmhurst, N.Y., organized a meet-up with the woman, who had traveled to the United States from her home in Spain to sell the bag after listing it on an online marketplace.

Wu, who appeared in Stamford Superior Court Tuesday, according to Greenwich Time, is charged with first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, first-degree larceny and conspiracy. Wu remains in custody with a $750,000 bond and is scheduled to appear again in court on Sept. 11, the CT Judicial Branch website shows.

On Dec. 21, 2023, shortly before 7 p.m., the Greenwich Police Department received a call from a woman on Lancer Road who reported she had just been robbed of a handbag she was trying to sell, Det. Ryan Beattie wrote in an arrest warrant.

A man had asked the woman to meet him in front of a home on Lancer Road so he could purchase the bag, a Kelly II Retourne 20 Crocodile Niloticus Himalayan — which he said was supposed to be a gift for a family member, Beattie wrote in an arrest warrant.

When the woman arrived around 6:30 p.m., she met with a man who "proceeded to grab the Hermès box/bag," but she refused to let go, Beattie wrote in the arrest warrant.

"At least two other... males then appeared suddenly and she was forced to the ground. All three began to kick and strike her to her head and body at which point she relinquished control of the bag," Beattie noted in the arrest warrant, adding that the woman reported one of the men brandished what appeared to be a knife.

The men fled the scene in an SUV, according to the arrest warrant.

The woman suffered internal bleeding in her brain, facial injuries and lacerations, Beattie wrote.

Police identified Wu through surveillance footage from a local restaurant from earlier in the day, phone and text messaging apps and cell phone location data, according to the arrest warrant.

The woman was able to identify Wu as the person she met with through photographs and audio recordings of his voice, the arrest warrant details.

At the time the arrest warrant was written in March, police said they were able to identify one of four perpetrators.

Wu was arrested on April 29.