Steamboat Springs police arrested two men last week after they allegedly targeted Hispanic males and used fake jewelry to rob them.

David Alexandru, 31, and Nikolaj Huh, 27, were arrested by Steamboat police Thursday. Both are charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor bias-motivated crimes.

Officers responded to a report of fraud that allegedly occurred Thursday, according to arrest affidavits filed with the Routt County Combined Court.

Responding officers met with the alleged victim and a friend who translated for him. Additional translation services were provided by Integrated Communities.

The victim reported pulling over to make a phone call in the area of 725 South Lincoln Ave. before a man, later identified as Huh, allegedly leaned into his car and “asked for money for gas,” according to court documents.

The victim told police Huh approached their car after exiting a silver Ford Expedition with Utah license plates.

“(The victim) stated that Huh then asked for money for gas to which (the victim) got out his wallet to give Huh gas money … Huh then took off the ‘gold’ necklaces he was wearing and told (the victim) they were worth $5,000 and attempted to give (them) the necklace,” according to an arrest affidavit.

According to the court documents, the victim said he told Huh “no” but said he was intimidated by Huh “yelling in an aggressive manner at him for more.”

The victim told officers that Huh did not “take back the necklaces and showed them to (police),” adding that he “did not ever want them.”

During the interaction, the victim allegedly gave Huh $500 from his wallet “as he felt he didn’t have any other options,” according to an arrest affidavit.

The court documents further recount that after Huh left from the area of the victim’s car, a second male, later identified as Alexandru, exited the same Ford Expedition “and also leaned through the window” of the victim’s car.

The victim reported that Alexandru showed him a “gold watch” and “stated that he too needed help,” according to court documents.

The victim told police that he “got scared” and handed Alexandru $100 and “then gave an additional $400 to Alexandru out of fear.” The victim also told police that both Huh and Alexandru spoke “good Spanish.”

Steamboat police later found a connection between the incident and another report made April 30 after a “Hispanic male … reported that he was approached by a party with a large silver SUV, matching the vehicle description provided by (the victim),” according to court documents.

In that report, the victim told police that a man approached him “selling ‘gold’ jewelry for gas money …”

On Thursday, local police spotted the vehicle allegedly driven by Huh and Alexandru and executed a traffic stop.

Steamboat police interviewed the two men who allegedly admitted to “knowingly selling fake jewelry, although they claimed they never said it was real,” according to a city news release.

Alexandru allegedly told police that he and Huh only sold the fake jewelry to Hispanic individuals, according to court documents. Upon a search of their vehicle, police allegedly found several pieces of fake jewelry and over $2,500 in cash.

Both Huh and Alexandru produced licenses from the state of New York but they told officers their native language was Romanian, according to court documents.

Huh told officers that he and Alexandru were “just passing through from Grand Junction to New York and (were) in Steamboat because it was beautiful,” according to an arrest affidavit.

The two men posted $8,000 cash surety bonds after appearing in court on Friday.

Steamboat police said Huh was arrested by ICE agents after posting bond and remains in custody with the federal agency.

Alexandru also posted bond but was not arrested by ICE due to his asylum status, according to local police.

Alexandru and Huh are scheduled to appear in Routt County court again on May 7.

Steamboat police believe there are additional victims in the community who may have dealt with Huh and Alexandru and are asking anyone with information to contact the department at 970-879-1144.

Editor’s note: Every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless and until their guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.