Victim says he was followed by two vehicles
A 74-year old man reported being assaulted by four suspects on Scenic Ave. on Aug. 11 after being followed by two vehicles. The suspects were described as four Black males wearing ski masks.
The victim reported the crime at 7 p.m. He said he was followed by two vehicles to Scenic Ave. where four people jumped out of the vehicles and demanded his watch. According to a post on the Piedmont Police Department Facebook page, a scuffle ensued and the man was pushed to the ground. He was not injured.
Shortly thereafter, reports came in on two vehicles speeding on Highland and Moraga avenues. One car is a dark, four-door sedan, the other a black four-door Infiniti. The Facebook post said the same suspects are believed to be involved in another robbery on Interstate 880/80 when one of the suspects displayed a gun.
Piedmont police asked that if anybody has any information or surveillance footage of the vehicles or their occupants to call 510-420-3000.
Piedmont Police Department Captain Chris Monahan said the department is still in the early stages of “trying to determine who might have done this.”
Later on the same night, officers found a vehicle in the same area facing the wrong direction in the road with a smashed windshield. As the officers approached the vehicle, a man in a mask appeared behind the car and then fled on foot. A man and a woman were found in the vehicle and were detained. They were found to have warrants for burglary, auto theft, possession of methamphetamine and probation. The two suspects were taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Stolen mail from Piedmont, Berkeley, and Oakland was found in the vehicle, according to a post on the Department’s Facebook page.
On Aug. 9 at 3:48 p.m., a man attempted to steal 8-10 small propane tanks from the Ace Hardware on Grand Avenue. A manager and a store employee followed the man out to his vehicle and removed the stolen items. The suspect brandished a firearm at the two employees while they were removing the items from the vehicle, according to Captain Monahan. The suspect then fled, heading south on Grand.
The suspect was described as a white male, approximately 20-25 years old, wearing a black hat, a purple tie-dye T-shirt, black shorts, black socks and flip flops. He also had multiple tattoos on each arm. The suspect vehicle is a black Toyota Camry.
Also on Aug. 9, the city’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) alerted to a vehicle in the area of Linda and Kingston avenues. At 10:53 p.m., while canvasing the area, officers saw a suspect rifling through a parked vehicle while the car alarm was sounding, according to Captain Monahan. Dispatch informed the officers that the suspect was on probation. The passenger side door on the vehicle had been punched and burglary tools were found on the floorboard of the vehicle, according to Captain Monahan.
The suspect was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. The owner of the vehicle estimated the damage at $1,000.