Car thieves allegedly took two vehicles from a residence on Jerome Avenue in Piedmont, then came back and took one of the cars a second time, according to Piedmont Police.
The incident started overnight on Aug. 11-12. A BMW and a Mercedes Benz EQ were reported taken at 7:14 a.m. on Aug. 12. The BMW was found at 61st and Lowell streets in Emeryville at 9 a.m., according to the police log. That vehicle had minor damage from an apparent accident and was towed.
At 1:38 p.m., the Mercedes was “pinging” at 61st and San Pablo Avenue in Emeryville, according to the log. The vehicle was located and returned to the registered owner.
That night, the suspects returned and stole the Mercedes a second time, according to Captain Monahan. The reporting person was able to track the vehicle and it was eventually found stopped at Adeline Street and Alcatraz Avenue in Berkeley at 12:51 a.m. Within five minutes, police arrived and found the vehicle unoccupied. The Mercedes Benz was returned to the owner. According to Piedmont Police Captain Chris Monahan, the owner then parked the vehicle in a secure spot and planned to have the locks reprogrammed.
On Aug. 10, a 2025 Honda HR-V was taken on Grand Avenue. The owner and their spouse were meeting when they both saw the vehicle drive off, according to Captain Monahan. The vehicle departed the scene traveling north on Grand, according to Captain Monahan. He said the suspects were described as three Black males aged 20-25. The original report said the couple’s 1-year old baby was in the car but that turned out to be inaccurate, according to Monahan.
On Aug. 9, a report came in that one of the city’s Flock cameras had been tampered with. According to the police log, police confirmed that the camera had been tampered with and was pointing towards the bushes. Captain Monahan said the city hasn’t had a lot of incidents of tampering but that officers did go to check all of the cameras.
“Hard to say what happened, but we’re on it,” he said.