A woman was arrested in Piedmont for having a warrant for grand theft out of Sacramento County. The arrest took place around 2:39 p.m. on Jan. 29. According to Piedmont police Capt. Chris Monahan, a Piedmont police officer on patrol in the area of Grand and Oakland avenues saw a silver 2004 Ford Aerostar van with expired tags. The vehicle was stopped and the driver was identified as a woman with a no-bail warrant. The woman was transported to police headquarters and then to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
On Feb. 1, the city’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) identified a vehicle that had been reported stolen and wanted in strong arm robberies out of Emeryville.
However, after the vehicle was stopped, it was determined that the license plate had been reported stolen. An officer from Emeryville arrived and advised that the vehicle was not wanted in relation to the crimes. The driver and the vehicle were released and Emeryville Police removed the vehicle from the stolen vehicle database, according to Monahan.
At 4:19 p.m. on Feb. 2, a group of kids were reported to have been skateboarding illegally on Highland Avenue. The crime log states that a person reported they were called by a nanny, saying, “she told the kids to stop skateboarding and they called her a Karen.”
When an officer checked the scene, there were no skateboarders. Monahan said that per the Piedmont code, skateboarding is restricted on some streets including Highland.
Finally, Piedmont Police posted on Facebook about a series of residential burglaries in the Bay Area. One of the cases being worked on occurred in Piedmont in 2021.
“There are a variety of agencies working together on this series of burglaries,” Monahan said. “We are in contact with them. Our case was last year and we have exhausted all leads now, but the case is still open in case we develop a lead via the multi-agency operation. Some of the similarities in the other cases in other areas match up with ours, but no way to confirm if [it’s] the same group.”
The department advises residents to follow the “Core-4” crime prevention program which includes the three-Ls: Lighting, locks and landscaping. Make sure doors are locked, use lights at night, and trim overgrown landscaping to eliminate hiding spaces. Also, residents who live alongside open space should also be mindful that criminals could use the space to access their property.
Residents can signup for Piedmont’s “Vacation Home Check” program HERE Police will come by the property once a day as well as check at random times, according to Captain Monahan. Residents can also ask the police to get out and walk around the property. Further information on crime prevention is available by calling 510-420-3000.