Full Notification

The following is a summary of criminal activity in El Cerrito. It does not include all crimes. 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.

July 26th

Stolen Vehicle – 5700 block of El Dorado St.
An unknown suspect stole the victim’s black Mercedes SUV between 5/17/22 - 6/18/22 while the victim was away on vacation.

Shoplifting – 11565 San Pablo Ave (Walgreen’s):
At 7:34 PM, an unidentified suspect stole $30 worth of food items.

Trespass / Warrants – 11400 block of San Pablo Ave:
At 8:38 PM, an officer accepted the citizen’s arrest of a 27-year-old unsheltered woman when she was discovered inside the previously burned vacant residence.  The arrested woman also had two no-cite warrants for her arrest.  She was issued a citation for trespassing and transported to the County jail on the warrant. 

Domestic Violence – 5900 block of Lassen St:  
At 9:00 PM, an officer reports a 27-year-old El Cerrito man purportedly hit the victim on her head and legs several times during an argument.  He also pinned her down several times when she tried to leave the residence, resulting in bruises on her arms.  The victim fled to the Pastime ACE Hardware parking lot with most of her possessions to call the police.  The suspect fled the area prior to the arrival of the police. 

July 27th

Auto Burglary – 10400 block of San Pablo Ave.
At 1228 hours, two suspects shattered the victim’s vehicle window and stole a purse while the owner was seated inside the vehicle.  The suspects then fled the scene in a vehicle northbound on San Pablo Ave. 

Stolen Vehicle – 900 block of Liberty St.
An unknown suspect stole the victim’s Honda Civic.  The theft occurred sometime overnight.

Grand Theft from Vehicle – 10700 block of San Pablo Ave. 
At 4:43 pm, an unknown suspect stole the catalytic converter from the victim’s vehicle. 

July 28^th

Recovered Stolen Vehicle – 1100 block of James Pl.
At 0807 am, Officers recovered a stolen work van originally reported stolen to ECPD in June.

Petty Theft (Package Theft) – 10800 block of San Pablo Ave.
On 7/23/22, between 4:00 and 4:50 pm, an unknown suspect stole a package from the lobby of the apartment complex.

Auto Burglary – 7300 block of Moeser Ln.
Between 0900-1000 am, an unknown suspect shattered the window of the victim’s vehicle and stole a backpack containing a wallet.

Warrant Arrest – 10300 block of San Pablo Ave.
At 1:07 pm, Officers arrested a male subject for an outstanding no bail misdemeanor warrant.

Grand Theft – 7200 block of Potrero Ave:
At 7:52 PM, an unidentified suspect stole the catalytic converter off the victim’s Honda Accord that was parked in her driveway.  The suspect fled in a green Nissan, possibly a Leaf or similar.  Last seen eastbound on Potrero.

July 29^th

Commercial Burglary – Denny’s 11344 San Pablo Ave.
Three unknown suspects cut the front door lock of the restaurant, entered, and stole approximately $3000.00 worth of miscellaneous tools.  Denny’s was currently closed for renovations. 

Vandalism – 1000 El Cerrito Plaza (Lucky);
At 8:52 pm officers went to a report of vandalism inside Lucky.  An officer located the suspect in another part of the El Cerrito Plaza.  The subject was placed under citizen’s arrest and was issued a citation for the crime and released. 

July 30^th
Arson – 10650 San Pablo Avenue (CVS);
At 2:05 am El Cerrito police Officers and El Cerrito firefighters were sent to the report that someone had started a fire in front of the store.  When the officers and firefighters arrived, they found a transient had started a fire on the sidewalk in front of the store.  The fire was extinguished, and the subject was placed under arrest.  They were issued a citation and released. 

Arrest for Felony Vandalism, Probation Violation and Warrants – Ross 11545 San Pablo Ave.
At approximately 10:03 am officers responded to the Ross store for a male breaking store windows with a brick.  The male also damaged several cars in the parking lot.  An El Cerrito police K9 officer detained a 22-year-old male on San Pablo Ave at Blake St.  The victim positively identified the male as the suspect who vandalized the store and the vehicles.  The male was on probation out of Contra Costa County for a weapons charge and had three Contra Costa County warrants for his arrest.  The male was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the County Jail in Martinez. 

July 31^st

Hit and Run – Valero 11687 San Pablo Ave.
At approximately 7:17 am an unknown suspect drove their Ford SUV into the south side fence of the business and fled the scene. 

Shoplifting – DD’s Discounts 11555 San Pablo Ave.
At approximately 4:51 pm a subject walked out of the store with a pair of jeans and a backpack without attempting to pay for the merchandise.

August 1^st

Vehicle Tampering – City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave. 
An unknown suspect entered an unlocked city vehicle and used it as a shelter for the night. 

Grand Theft – 1500 block of S. 56^th St. 
Sometime over the weekend, an unknown suspect stole the catalytic converter from the victim’s vehicle. 

Recovered Stolen Vehicle – Portola Dr. / Richmond St. 
An officer located a 1992 Toyota pickup that had been reported stolen to San Rafael on 7/22/22.

Auto Burglary – 3160 Carlson Blvd. 
At 2:15 pm, an unknown suspect shattered the victim’s passenger window and stole a designer purse from under the seat.  The suspect then fled on foot. 

Brandishing a weapon, Criminal Threats, Failure to register as a sex offender – Pic N’ Pac, 10012 San Pablo Ave. 
At 4 pm, a 57-year-old man was arrested after he pulled a knife on the victim and threatened his life.  The subject was also out of compliance with sex registration requirements.  The man was transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.  

Petty Theft – 10636 San Pablo Ave (24-Hour Fitness):
Two lockers were broken into between 8:00 – 8:45 PM and a cell phone was taken.  No suspect info.

Assault with a Deadly Weapon – 10203 San Pablo Ave (Idaho Apartments:
At 9:13 PM, officers responded to a third-hand report of a male with a cut on his face.  Officers arrived and contacted the victim who was bleeding from cuts to his hand.  It was determined that a 33 year-old male associate suddenly pulled out a knife and “came at him”.  The suspect was arrested and booked at the El Cerrito Police Department.  He was later released per 849PC due to a pre-existing medical condition.  The case will be forwarded to the District Attorney for review.

Recovered Stolen Vehicle – Moeser Ln / Pomona Ave:
An officer reports a stolen 2004 Chevy pickup was located near Cerrito Vista Park by its owner around 6:30 PM.  The vehicle was reported stolen to Richmond Police Department earlier in the day.  The vehicle was recovered and released to its owner at the scene.

August 2^nd

Attempted Grand Theft – 2500 block of Tassajara Ave.
At 6:45 am, witnesses interrupted the theft of their neighbor’s catalytic converter. 

Vehicle Theft – 7000 block of Stockton Ave. 
An officer reports that an unknown suspect stole the victim’s, Chevy Express Van. 

Vehicle Theft – Moeser Ln. / BART Path
An officer reports that an unknown suspect stole the victim’s 2012 Ford F350 box truck. 

Recovered Stolen Vehicle – Stockton Ave. / Everett St.
A neighbor in the area heard a loud bang and looked outside to see two vehicles in the roadway.  The two vehicles were the recently stolen Chevy Express van and F350 box truck.  She saw the suspects flee in a dark-colored SUV and called police. 

Auto Burglary – 6400 block of Fairmount Ave. 
At 5:30 am, two unknown suspects shattered the driver window of the victim’s vehicle and stole property.

Domestic Battery – 1300 block of Liberty St.
At 3:30 pm, officers arrested a 29-year-old El Cerrito man after he injured his girlfriend by grabbing her arm during an argument.  The man was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.

Shooting at Unoccupied Vehicle – Willow Ave / Oak St:
At 7:04 PM, officers were dispatched to multiple calls of shots fired in the area.  A witness described seeing a male subject, wearing a grey hoodie and red shorts firing multiple shots toward the BART path from a handgun.  The suspect then fled westbound on Willow Ave and southbound on Liberty St. while tucking a black semi-automatic handgun in his waistband.

Expended casings were located near the sidewalk at the southwest corner of Willow Ave and Oak St.  Two parked and unoccupied vehicles on Elm St at Willow Ave were struck by bullets, and several apparent bullet impacts were located on the BART pillar adjacent to the location.   No victims were located and an extensive search for the firearm was conducted. 
 
Commercial Burglary – 11800 San Pablo Ave (El Cerrito Pet Hospital):

At 11:27 PM, officers responded to a report of a possible commercial burglary at the business.  Employees responded to the business to check on an alarm about an hour earlier and discovered a light ransack in the front office.  The point of entry was through a skylight.  Unknown loss.

August 3^rd

Vehicle Burglary – 632 Kearney St:
At 1:06 AM, an unidentified suspect broke a window and entered a 2005 Ford work.  The victim confronted the suspect who then fled northbound on Kearney St in a black 2-door vehicle, traveling the wrong way on the one-way street.

Grand Theft, Identity Theft – 300 block of Pomona Ave.
An unknown suspect accessed the victim’s EDD account and transferred several thousand dollars to an unknown account. 

Battery – 11450 San Pablo Ave (Safeway): At 10:17 PM, officers were dispatched to Safeway regarding a person assaulted with pepper spray.  Upon further investigation, it became apparent the “victim” a 33-year-old unsheltered woman had been pepper sprayed by Safeway security guards when she swung and spat at them as she was being escorted out of the store as a trespasser due to previous thefts.  The prosecution was declined by security for the battery.  The woman was treated at the scene for pepper spray exposure and released.

August 4^th

Grand Theft – 5800 block of El Dorado Ave. 
At 6:30 am, an unknown suspect stole the catalytic converter from the victim’s vehicle. 

Attempted Grand Theft – 10900 block of San Pablo Ave.
At 7:45 am, an unknown suspect attempted to steal the catalytic converter from the victim’s vehicle. 

Hate crime, Battery, Battery on a police officer, Warrant arrest - Blake St. / BART Path. 
Officers were dispatched to a fight involving two men on the BART Path.  The investigation revealed that the suspect used derogatory homophobic slurs and punched the victim in the face after an argument.  When officers detained the suspect, they found he had a warrant for his arrest.  When officers attempted to handcuff the suspect, he resisted arrest and kicked an officer.  The officer suffered minor injuries.  The 41-year-old man, who was on probation for robbery and theft in Contra Costa County was subsequently arrested and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.