During the early morning hours of Monday, February 23, Alameda Police Department (APD) responded to a series of commercial burglaries in Alameda. Nine businesses were impacted, according to an APD report on Facebook. The first burglary was reported shortly after 3 a.m.
During the initial stages of the investigation, officers and detectives worked quickly to assess the scope of the incidents. Evidence gathered at multiple scenes enabled investigators to link the same vehicle and suspects to the burglaries. With the assistance of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology, officers were able to locate the suspect vehicle within hours.
With the help of East Bay Regional PD and Oakland PD, three individuals were detained. Two were arrested on unrelated offenses. Detectives have since identified additional parties of interest and continue to actively investigate these incidents.
“It’s too early to say who all is involved, but we have made some arrests of individuals we believe are involved,” Police Chief Nishant Joshi told KTVU News. “They’ve been arrested for unrelated crimes. We’re going to further our investigation.”
Joshi also said investigators believe the group may be responsible for similar crimes in other cities.
The APD report did not list the names of the businesses that were affected. A couple of the businesses that were robbed posted about the situation on social media.
“We were one of the shops burglarized in a string of smash-and-grabs in Alameda,” Malaya Tea Room, located at 920 Central Avenue, posted on Facebook. “There was nothing to steal. No cash on site …but expensive damages of windows. So horrible to wake up to.” The tea room is expected to be open for business again on Thursday, according to the post.
Doodlecakes, located at 647 Central Avenue, maintained an unexpected good sense of humor in a Facebook post, calling the burglars “four hungry cake connoisseurs,” and noting that they stole a total of $10 from a tip jar in a drawer and left a cash register that had been stolen from Mountain Mike’s Pizza (714 Central Avenue) on the sidewalk.
There were almost 100 comments on the APD Facebook post at the time of writing this article, most of which were devoted to thanking the police for their service and strongly encouraging Alamedans to support local businesses, especially those that were affected by the burglaries.
“I really feel for these small, locally owned businesses. I’m sure they are relieved that you nabbed the alleged bandits so quickly,” one commenter wrote. “Meanwhile, time to order a pizza, get some delicious high tea, and some cupcakes.”
Some comments specifically praised the Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology, which spurred controversy upon introduction, and thanked APD for adopting it.
“ALPR paying for itself in spades again!” one person wrote. “Thank you for going the extra steps to catching the burglars.”
