Less than 24 hours after suspects were arrested Thursday in a string of Oakland smash-and-grab robberies, one store was hit again overnight Friday, police say.
Oakland police are investigating a total of eight smash-and-grab robberies at gas stations and convenience stores over the past few days, including a 7-Eleven store on Grand Avenue that was hit a second time in as many nights.
Overnight Friday, five masked suspects threw a large rock through the locked glass door to get into the 7-Eleven. Once inside, they forced the clerk to open the register and hand over about $300.
The same clerk was working early Thursday morning when a different set of thieves plowed a car into the 7-Eleven to target the store’s safe. Four suspects were arrested in that incident, police said.
"These are organized crime people, so it’s not like they’re doing this one time and they're going to stop," 7-Eleven manager Sanjiv Patel said.
The smash-and-grab spree targeted half a dozen gas stations and convenience stores, and left behind tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Police said they have also identified several other crews responsible for different commercial burglaries.
"We are going to track you down, we are going to arrest you, we are going to recover the video, and we are going to get the evidence," Oakland police Assistant Chief James Beere said Thursday.
Police said the previous crimes happened at multiple locations throughout the city: the 3500 block of Grand Avenue, the 3300 block of Park Boulevard, the 700 block of Market Street, the 4100 block of Redwood Road, the 600 block of High Street and the 2400 block of MacArthur Boulevard.
Multiple suspects used vehicles to force their way into the businesses, according to police. After they got inside, the suspects burglarized or robbed the businesses before taking off in the vehicles.
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Overall, police said violent crimes and burglaries are down by a third compared to last year, but some convenience store owners and workers said something has to change, and they think that starts with more officers.
"I hope that our city leaders understand this and listen to this: our community members, our business owners, the employees of these businesses are screaming, begging for help," Oakland Police Officers Association President Huy Nguyen said.
A new consultant's report to the Oakland Police Commission said the city needs 877 officers to maintain its current service level – about 277 more officers than what is currently budgeted.
Nguyen said even that number isn't enough.
"That’s exactly what I’m asking for: over 1,000 officers, which is roughly about 400 more officers," he said.
The investigation into the burglaries and robberies is ongoing, police said, and any witnesses who may have video or images of the crimes in progress can help by emailing those to cidvideos@oaklandca.gov.
