Full Notification

On Tuesday May 24, 2022, at approximately 4:15 p.m., Moraga Police received a report of a package theft that had occurred on Williams Drive.  The victim called ASAP and provided a description of the suspect and vehicle to Dispatch.  Shortly thereafter, we received another report of a package theft in the Bluffs neighborhood, identifying the same suspect vehicle and similar suspect description.  Officers responded to the area as a third package theft call came in from the Camino Colorados neighborhood in Lafayette.  In all three cases, an observant resident called as soon as possible and reported what had occurred and what they had seen.
 
Moraga and Lafayette PD officers responded to that area and one of our officers spotted the vehicle on Rohrer Drive.  He attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver failed to stop and turned onto St. Mary’s Road.  Officers pursued the vehicle on to St. Mary’s Road and were attempting to get a license number from the vehicle.  While on St. Mary’s Road, the suspect vehicle rammed another Moraga PD vehicle, attempting to disable the vehicle and potentially injure the officer.  Fortunately, the vehicle only suffered minor damage and the officer was not injured. 
 
The pursuit continued on to Moraga Road, eventually turning on to Pinehurst Road from Canyon Road.  Due to safety concerns, officers had slowed and lost sight of the vehicle.  About ¼ mile north of the county line on Pinehurst, officers located the suspect vehicle, which had spun out and the suspects had run into the EBMUD South Watershed area.  An extensive search of the area was conducted by officers, a Lafayette Police K-9 and the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff’s helicopter, but officers were unable to locate the suspects. 
 
At the scene, it was discovered that the suspect vehicle had been reported stolen to the Oakland Police Department and had a false license plate attached to it.  Officers discovered packages in the car that had been stolen from 6 different residences; 3 in Moraga and 3 in Lafayette.  The suspects also abandoned a 3 month old puppy in the vehicle, which is now in the custody of Animal Services.  Pinehurst Road was closed for approximately one hour during the incident.  The investigation into the incident is continuing.
 
This is a great example of residents seeing something out of the ordinary and reporting it to the Police Department as soon as possible.  It is through these efforts that we were able to stop this criminal activity and recover property from at least 6 different crimes in Lamorinda and a stolen vehicle from Oakland. 
 
Package thefts and thefts from unlocked vehicles are crimes that occur throughout Lamorinda on a regular basis and can be easily prevented:

• Ensure that packages are delivered when someone is home, ask a neighbor to hold packages for you, use business addresses or use Amazon hubs or delivery lockers. 
• Don’t leave valuables…or something that appears to be valuable…in your vehicle and ensure that your vehicle is locked…even in your driveway. 
• Please report crimes and suspicious persons/activity to our Dispatch Center at 925-284-5010.