Dec 3-23: El Cerrito Police Calls

The following is a summary of criminal activity in El Cerrito between December 3-23 according to the El Cerrito Police Department.

The following is a summary of criminal activity in El Cerrito. It does not include all crimes in the El Cerrito Police Calls. It also does not include non-criminal events such as missing persons, traffic collisions, non-criminal deaths, non-criminal disputes, nor many other police activities that do not result in arrest.

El Cerrito Police Calls:

December 3^rd 

• Recovered Stolen Vehicle- San Mateo Ave/ El Dorado Ave: At 6:53 PM, an officer located the victim’s stolen vehicle.
• Stolen Vehicle- Kearney St./Schmidt Ln: At 7:06 PM, an officer reported an unknown suspect stole the victim’s vehicle.
• Criminal Threats- 800 Block of Lexington Ave: At 9:53 PM, an officer reported during a dispute the suspect threatened to shoot the victim’s family.

December 4^th

• Stolen Vehicle Report – 500 block of the El Cerrito Plaza: On December 2^nd at 3:30PM the victim’s vehicle was stolen from the apartment complex garage.
• Recovered Stolen Vehicle – Rosalind Ave at Hillside Ave. At 11:57AM, an El Cerrito Police Sergeant located an unoccupied vehicle that was reported stolen to BART PD on November 25^th.  The vehicle was towed and registered owner of was contacted.
• Obtain Money by False Pretenses – 1300 Block of Liberty St.: At 6:00PM, the victim was scammed out of money after hiring who she thought was an immigration lawyer.

December 5^th

• Recovered Stolen Vehicle – 6600 block of Hill St.: At 1:34PM a Community Service Officer recovered an unoccupied stolen vehicle that was reported to Pinole PD. The vehicle was released to the owner on scene.

December 6^th

• Stolen Vehicle – 5300 block of Poinsett Ave.: At 10:15AM the victim reported their vehicle was stolen from in front of their residence.
• Commercial Burglary – 11775 San Pablo Ave (Frannie Express Hawaiian BBQ): At 10:49AM the owner reported that sometime last night the suspect shattered the glass door and stole cash and electronics from the register.
• Strong Armed Robbery – 430 El Cerrito Plaza (Footlocker): At 5:12PM the suspect pushed the security guard and exited the store with unpaid merchandise.  The suspect was detained at the Plaza BART station and was positively identified by the victim.  The suspect was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.
• Stolen Vehicle – 512 El Cerrito Plaza: At 7:58PM, the victim reported their motorcycle stolen sometime between 12/1/23 at 5:00PM and 12/2/23 at 4:30PM.
• Auto Burglary / Unlicensed Driver / Probation Violation – 6700 Block of Potrero Ave.: At 4:31AM, officers responded to a report of an auto burglary.  Officers detained the suspect as he fled in a vehicle.  The subject was arrested and later transported to county jail.

December 7^th

• Vandalism – 1600 block Potrero Ave.: At 8:16AM the victim reported their rear driver side window was shattered last night.
• Attempted Stolen Vehicle – 2000 block of Tapscott Ave.: On 12/06/23 at 3:00AM a suspect damaged the door lock to the victim’s vehicle and then damaged the ignition.  A witness scared the suspect off, who fled the area in another vehicle.  The police did not receive a call until today.
• Stolen Vehicle – 200 block of Pomona Ave.: At 11:50AM the victim reported their vehicle was stolen sometime last night.
• Stolen Vehicle – 900 block of Lexington Ave.: At 2:34PM the victim reports their vehicle was stolen sometime last night.
• Robbery – 11450 San Pablo Ave (Safeway).: At 7:00PM, officers responded to a reported theft from the business.  Two suspects stole items and fought over the items with security.  Both suspects fled in a vehicle prior to the officers’ arrival.
• Drug Paraphernalia – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross).: At 9:08PM, officers responded to a reported theft in progress at the business.  The suspect was detained inside the business and the property was returned.  The suspect was in possession of drug paraphernalia and released on a citation at the scene.
• Organized Retail Theft – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross).: At 9:08PM, while investigating the above case, officers were told two suspects had just stolen items and fled on foot towards BART.  Officers detained both suspects who were identified and placed under citizens’ arrest.  Both suspects were transported to ECPD and later released on citations.

December 8^th

• DUI / Suspended License – Navellier St / Mound St:  At 5:18 PM, an officer responded to a collision involving a solo vehicle into parked cars.  The investigation resulted in the arrest of a 67 year old El Cerrito man after it was determined his license was suspended for DUI and he was again under the influence.  To county jail.
• Grand Theft – 4010 EL Cerrito Plaza (AT&T): At 7:02 PM, an officer reports the suspect removed an iPhone and 3 iPads from the displays and fled the business.
• Attempt Stolen Vehicle- Lexington Ave at Eureka Ave:
  At 9:05 PM, an officer was patrolling the area and noticed a window of the victim’s vehicle had been smashed out. Upon further investigation, the officer discovered the unknown suspect attempted to steal the vehicle.

December 9^th

• Vandalism x 6 – Richmond St / Glenwood:  At 10:27 AM, an officer reports unidentified suspect(s) shattered the windows of six vehicles, apparently with a window punch, and made no apparent entry to any of the vehicles.  Occurred sometime overnight.
• Vandalism x 2 – 200 block of San Carlos Ave:  At 11:10 AM, an officer reports unidentified suspect(s) shattered the windows of two vehicles, apparently with a window punch, with no apparent entry made.  Occurred sometime overnight.
• Vandalism x 4 – 5600 block of San Diego St:  At 1:32 PM, an officer reports unidentified suspect(s) shattered the windows of four vehicles, apparently with a window punch, and made no apparent entry to any of the vehicles.  Occurred sometime overnight.

December 10^th

• Arson – To the Rear of 11100 San Pablo Ave:  At 1:51 PM, an officer and El Cerrito Fire report an unidentified suspect placed a mop and bucket under the front of a grey Honda in the rear lot and lit it on fire, causing damage to the vehicle.
• Robbery – 430 El Cerrito Plaza (Foot Locker): At 6:32 PM, an officer reports three juvenile suspects loaded several bags of merchandise and attempted to walk out of the store. When an employee confronted the suspects one of them threatened to shoot him.

December 11^th

• Arson – 1700 Block of Elm St: At 6:50 PM, an officer reports an unknown suspect lit a bush on fire.
• Stolen Vehicle – 11000 Block of San Pablo Ave: At 6:16 PM, an officer reports an unknown suspect stole the victim’s vehicle.
• Stolen Vehicle Recovery – Carlson Blvd/ Central Ave: At 8:20 PM, officers received a Flock notification and started circulating the area. An officer located the vehicle unoccupied in the 3400 Block of Belmont Ave. The victim responded to the scene and took possession of her vehicle.
• Stolen Vehicle – 600 Block of Lexington Ave: At 2:59 AM, an officer reports an unknown suspect stole the victim’s vehicle.
• Theft from Vehicle – 7600 Block of Stockton Ave: At 3:52 AM, an officer reports the victim heard a vehicle drive away from the front of his house. The victim checked on his vehicle and discover property was missing.

December 12^th

• Stolen Vehicle – 7500 block of Curry Ave.  At 6:38AM the victim reported their vehicle was stolen sometime last night.
• Arson – Safeway 11450 San Pablo Ave. At 10:36AM, an unknown suspect set fire to a small bush to the rear of the business.  The El Cerrito Fire Department put out the fire prior to police arrival.
• Robbery – Safeway 11450 San Pablo Ave. At 11:44AM, the suspect attempted to exit Safeway with stolen merchandise concealed in his backpack.  When store security stopped him, the suspect pushed the security away.  The suspect was arrested, booked at the police station and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.
• Warrant Arrest – San Pablo Ave / Tehama Ave. At 8:51PM, officers contacted a subject who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest.  The subject was arrested and later transported to county jail.

December 13^th

• Petty Theft – 5600 block of El Dorado St.
  At 7:59PM the victim reported that the rear license plate from her vehicle was stolen last night
• Stolen Vehicle – 5600 block of Cypress Ave.
  At 9:38AM the victim reported their vehicle was stolen between December 6^th and December 7^th.
• Shoplifting – AT&T 4010 El Cerrito Plaza
  At 10:47AM the suspect stole an iPhone on the display table and fled towards the Plaza BART station.
• Organized Retail Theft – 430 El Cerrito Plaza (Foot Locker).
  At 6:44PM, officers responded to four juvenile subjects stealing from the store.  The suspects fled in a vehicle prior to police arrival.

December 14^th

• Commercial Burglary –11299 San Pablo Ave. (Western Dental) At 8:26AM the manager reports that sometime last night an unknown suspect broke the lockbox on the door and used the key to enter the business.  The suspect stole electronics.
• Stolen Vehicle – Donal Ave at Liberty St. At 8:35AM the victim reported that their rented vehicle was stolen sometime last night.
• Battery – Lucky 1000 El Cerrito Plaza At 11:19AM the victim reports that they were punched in the face by the suspect during a verbal altercation.
• Organized Retail Theft – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross) At 9:29PM, officers responded to two suspects that had just stolen items and fled the store towards BART.  The suspects were not located.
• Battery – 600 Block of Elm St. At 2:11AM, officers responded to a reported battery between roommates.  The victim was transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.  The suspect was arrested and later transported to county jail.

December 15^th

• Arson – 1751 Eastshore Blvd:  At 5:19 PM, an unidentified suspect lit a small brush fire to the rear of the building in the grass between the fence and the freeway soundwall.
• Commercial Burglary – 10636 San Pablo Ave (24 Hour Fitness) At 9:07 PM, an officer reports a suspect broke into the victim’s locker and stole their car keys. The suspect used the keys and ransacked the victim’s vehicle.
• Arson – San Pablo Ave/ Moeser Ln: At 11:30 PM, an officer was patrolling in the area when he noticed an unknown suspect had started a fire in a garbage can.
• Arson – Kearney St./Schmidt Ln: At 12:23 AM, an officer reports an unknown suspect started a fire inside dumpster.

December 16^th

• Vehicle Theft – 10650 San Pablo Ave:  At 2:41 PM, a bright green 2015 Kia Soul was stolen from the north parking lot of the old CVS.  The vehicle was last seen driving through the 24 Hour Fitness lot toward Moeser Ln.  The vehicle hit on a Flock camera when it left the city at 2:44 PM.
• Grand Theft – 900 Block of Leneve Pl: At 7:58 PM, an officer reports the victim was moving items from her house to her car when the suspect entered her car and stole her purse. The victim was able to “ping” some of her property. Officers responded to the location and located her laptop and iPhone.
• Arson – 5200 Block of Cypress Ave: At 10:29 PM, an officer reports an unknown suspect lit a tree and a baby stroller on fire.
• Arson – 6600 Hill St. At 10:29 PM, an officer reports an unknown suspect started a bush fire. The fire ignited a fence and porch causing damage to a portion of the house.
• Arson – 1700 Block of Lexington Ave: While responding to the above fire an officer located a fence on fire.
• Attempt Stolen Vehicle – 6500 Block of Waldo Ave: At 12:38 AM, an officer reports an unknown suspect attempted to steal the victim’s rented U-Haul truck.
• Vandalism – 11400 San Pablo Ave: An officer reports an unknown suspect smashed out the rear window of the victim’s vehicle.

December 17^th

• Vehicle Theft – 11600 San Pablo Ave:
  A U-Haul truck was stolen sometime overnight.
• Stolen Vehicle x2 – 1100 Block of Liberty St:
  At 7:15 AM, an officer reports an unknown suspect stole two motorcycles from the victim’s front yard.
• Auto Theft – 2600 Edwards Ave:
  At 7:45 AM, an officer reports an unknown suspect stole the victim’s work van. The victim “pinged” the location of the van and discovered it was in the City of Richmond. Officers responded to the area and located the van unoccupied. The van was released to the victim at the scene.
• Warrant Arrest – 11700 Block of San Pablo Ave:
  An officer noticed a subject acting suspicious and contacted him. During the contact the officer discovered the subject had an outstanding warrant. The subject was taken into custody and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.
• Attempt Stolen Vehicle – 1100 Block of Liberty St: At 9:08 PM, an officer reports an unknown suspect attempted to start the victim’s van. Unable to start the van, the suspect stole a tablet that was inside the van.
• Organized Retail Theft – 11794 San Pablo Ave (Marshalls): At 9:45 PM, an officer reports three suspects exited the store with unpaid for merchandise.

December 18^th

• Stolen/Recovered Vehicle – 2100 Block of Junction Ave. At 1:29 AM, officers responded to a reported vehicle theft that just occurred.  Officers circulated the area and located the vehicle unoccupied at Cedar St / Alta Punta.  The vehicle was returned to its owner.
• Auto Burglary – 5700 Block of Jordan Ave. At 1:56 AM, officers located an auto burglary and contacted the victim.  The unknown suspect(s) stole tools from a work truck.
• Auto Burglary – Blake St / Liberty St. At 2:10 AM, officers located an auto burglary and contacted the victim.  The unknown suspect(s) stole tools from an unlocked work truck.
• Vandalism – 1700 Block of Libert St. At 2:22 AM, officers located a vehicle with a shattered window and contacted the victim.  The unknown suspect(s) smashed the windows of the work truck but did not take any items.
• Auto Burglary – 2500 Block of Nason Ave. At 2:43 AM, officers located an auto burglary and contacted the victim.  The unknown suspect(s) stole auto accessories from an unlocked vehicle.
• Vandalism – 2500 Block of Edwards Ave. At 2:46 AM, officers located a vehicle with a shattered window and contacted the victim.  The unknown suspect(s) smashed the windows of a work van but did not take any items.

December 19^th

• Auto Burglary X2 – 2000 Block of Harper St: At 9:52 AM, a CSO reports an unknown suspect smashed two windows of one of the victim’s vehicles and pried opened several toolboxes of the victim’s truck to steal property.
• Arson – El Cerrito Plaza At 1:17 PM, an officer reports the suspect started a fire with gasoline burning debris and leaves near the Tesla charging station.  The suspect was taken into custody the following day during an unrelated incident.
• Vandalism – 10100 Block of San Pablo Ave: At 1:17 PM, an officer reports a clerk at a business refused to sell tobacco products to two minors. The minors became upset and knocked over a display case causing damage.
• Organized Retail Theft – 10794 San Pablo Ave (Marshalls). At 7:59 PM, officers responded to a shoplifting at the business.  Officers detained and arrested two suspects for theft.  The suspects were released on a citation at the scene.
• Shoplifting – 10794 San Pablo Ave (Marshalls). At 7:59 PM, while investigating the above case, officers detained and arrested another suspect for theft.  The suspect was released on a citation at the scene.
• Assault with Deadly Weapon / Evading – Central Ave / San Pablo Ave. At 1:28 AM, officers located a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed.  Officers lost the vehicle as it entered the City of Richmond.  A short time later officers located the vehicle at which time the vehicle rammed a police car.  The suspect fled and entered the freeway driving the wrong way.  The suspect was not apprehended.  The vehicle had stolen license plates attached and is associated with auto burglaries in Redwood City and package theft in Albany.

December 20^th  

• Recovered Stolen Vehicle- 3100 Block of Yosemite: At 8:17 AM, a CSO located a reported stolen vehicle stolen vehicle.
• Attempt Stolen Vehicle – 700 Block of Liberty St: At 11:47 AM, an officer reports an unknown suspect attempted to steal the victim’s vehicle.
• Vandalism – 6000 Potrero Ave (Pet Vet). At 6:57 PM, officers responded to a glass break alarm at the business.  Upon arrival, officers located a large brick that had been used to smash the front window.  No theft was reported.  The suspect fled prior to the officer’s arrival.
• Auto Burglary – 11150 San Pablo Ave (St. Johns Church). At 9:28 PM, the victim reported their car had been burglarized by an unknown suspect.

December 21^st

• Criminal Threats – 11600 San Pablo Ave. At 9:52 AM, the victim reported the suspect threatened to slap her and then fled.
• Grand Theft – 11545 San Pablo Ave (Ross). At 6:13 PM, the suspect entered the business, stole merchandise, and fled the store without paying.  The theft was reported 20 minutes after.
• Warrant Arrest – Eastshore Blvd / I-80. At 9:10 PM, officers conducted a pedestrian stop and arrested the person on two outstanding warrants.  The subject was later transported to county jail.
• Arson – 900 Block of the BART path. At 4:05 AM, an unknown suspect set a brush on fire along the BART path which caught the victims’ fence on fire.
• Commercial Burglary – 7022 Stockton Ave (7-Eleven). At 5:15 AM, the employee arrived at work to find the front window smashed.  Officers cleared the business and no suspects were located.

December 22nd

• Petty Theft – 6021 Centra Avenue (Burger King) At 7:54 PM an officer reports the victim got their electric scooter stolen while inside the business.
• Criminal Threats – 11450 San Pablo Avenue (Safeway): At 9:50 PM an officer reports a suspect threatened to shoot employees after he was asked to leave the store.

December 23rd

• Attempted Vehicle Theft – 10700 block of San Pablo Avenue: At 3:03 PM the victim reported to an officer that their vehicle had been stolen.
• Poss. of stolen vehicle – 10759 San Pablo Avenue (Marshall’s): At 7:27 PM an officer located a vehicle that had been reported stolen to the Oakland Police Department.  While the officer was investigating the vehicle four suspects exited Marshall’s through the emergency exit doors.  Two of the suspects walked to the stolen vehicle.  Then all four suspects fled from the officer and a foot pursuit was initiated.  One of the suspects was apprehended.  He was arrested and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.  It was determined that the suspects had stolen merchandise from Marshall’s.
• Arson – 7200 block of Blake Street: At 8:34 PM an officer responded with the fire department for the report of a suspicious fire.
• Arson – 1200 block of Navellier Street At 9:26 Pm while patrolling the area an officer saw a tarp that was covering two vehicles was on fire.  The fire department was called and they put out the fire.
• Arson arrest – Schmidt Lane near Liberty Street At 12:50 AM an officer spotted the arson suspect that he had seen on video from one of the earlier fires.  The officer attempted to stop the person and they fled on foot.  The suspect jumped over fences and ran through yards to get away.  Another Officer apprehended the suspect as he attempted to get away.  The subject was transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.
• Arson – 1100 block of Navellier Street At 1:24 AM an officer responded with the fire department to a suspicious fire.  The fire department determined the fire had been very slowly burning and had been lit some time earlier, most likely set before the suspect above was taken into custody.

Previous El Cerrito Police Calls:

• Nov 19-Dec 2
• Nov 12 – 18
• Nov 5-11
• Oct 29-Nov 4
• Oct 22-28
• Oct 15-21
• Oct 8-14
• Sept. 24-Oct 7
• Aug 20-26