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.
 
October 10^th

Grand theft – 200 block of Ashbury Ave.
Sometime overnight, an unknown suspect stole the catalytic converter from the victim’s vehicle. 

Theft of license plate – 3200 block of Belmont Ave. 
Sometime overnight, an unknown suspect stole the rear license plate from the victim’s vehicle. 

Prowler – 7200 block of Cutting Blvd:
At 11:50 PM, an unidentified suspect opened the screen door to the rear slider.  The homeowner heard the noise made by the screen and opened the curtains to see the prowler standing outside the slider reaching to try and open it.  When the homeowner shouted at the perpetrator, he fled out of fear.  The suspect was described as a Hispanic male in his 50’s, 5’ 5”, bald, wearing a brown work jacket.  A man closely matching the description was discovered sleeping in the yard of another house in the area the following morning. The man suffered from dementia and may have believed the residence was where he lived.

October 11^th

Theft of license plate – 300 block of Coronado St. 
Sometime between 10/9 and today, an unknown suspect stole the rear license plate from the victim’s vehicle. 

Arson – Chevron, 11319 San Pablo Ave. 
At 5:25 pm, an unknown suspect set fire inside a trash can near the pumps.  Store employees extinguished the fire prior to the arrival of emergency personnel.    

Robbery - 10560 San Pablo Ave (Jay Vee Liquors):
At 6:30 PM, an unidentified suspect stole beer, soda and candy worth less than $10.  When the clerk asked the suspect if he was going to pay for the items, the suspect stopped in the doorway and threatened to come back and rob the store and shoot the employees if they tried to stop him.  The employees waited two hours to report the incident.  The suspect was described as a black male, tall, 35-45 with unknown clothing description.

Shoplift – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross):
At 9:45 PM, an officer accepted the citizen’s arrest of a 35 year old Menlo Park woman for theft of $460 worth of merchandise.  The suspect was field cited and released to be transported to the hospital for an ongoing medical issue.

October 12^th

Warrant arrest – Knott Ave. / Junction Ave. 
An officer arrested a 45-year-old Richmond man for an outstanding warrant.  The man was given a citation and released at the scene. 
 
Commercial burglary – 10000 block of San Pablo Ave. 
Sometime overnight, an unknown suspect pried open a security gate to a breezeway then kicked open the office door of a business.  At this time, there is no reported loss. 

Attempted vehicle theft – 10944 San Pablo Ave. 
At 2:26 am, an unknown suspect attempted to steal the victim’s 1994 Honda Civic.  The victim stated that it was the third attempt this week.  However, he failed to report the previous two attempts to police. 

Organized retail theft – Ross, 11545 San Pablo Ave.
At 2:15 pm, three unknown suspects entered the store, selected handfuls of women’s clothing and shoes, and fled without paying. 

Petty theft – El Cerrito Plaza
Sometime between 2 pm and 3:15 pm, an unknown suspect cut the victim’s bicycle lock and stole an e-bike. 

Shoplift – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross):
At 9:30 PM, an unidentified suspect stole merchandise from Ross.

October 13^th

Vandalism – 100 block of Ramona Ave:
At 3:55 AM, unidentified suspects unsuccessfully attempted to steal the catalytic converter from a Toyota Prius, causing damage to the exhaust system and wiring under the car.  The suspects fled in a loud “muscle car” similar to a Dodge Charger, northbound on Ramona.

Grand Theft – 700 block of Colusa Ave:
At 4:03 AM, while enroute to the above listed detail, officers came upon a grey Dodge Charger parked in the middle of the street while three suspects worked on stealing the catalytic converter from another Toyota Prius.  Upon seeing the police car, the suspects quickly re-entered the Charger and fled northbound on Colusa.  In this case they were successful in stealing the catalytic converter.  The officer turned to pursue but the vehicle was too far ahead and escaped.  The Prius was left raised on a floor jack, and the jack was collected as evidence.