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.

The following is a summary of criminal activity in El Cerrito from March 12^th to March 18^th, 2023.

March 12^th
Shoplift – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross):
At 10:47 AM, an unidentified suspect stole merchandise from the store and fled.

Burglary- 10636 San Pablo Ave (24 Hour Fitness): 
At 10:57 PM, an officer reports a suspect broke into the victim’s secured locker and stole the victim’s property. The theft occurred in between 9:30 PM and-10:53 PM.

March 13^TH
Grand Theft – 6600 block of Barrett Ave.
On March 10^th from 7:30am to 1:30pm, victim’s catalytic converter was stolen from their vehicle.

Stolen Vehicle – 200 Block of Ramona Ave
At 5:11 PM the victims’ vehicle was stolen from the driveway.  The vehicle was recovered later that evening in San Pablo.

Shoplifting – 1000 El Cerrito Plaza (Lucky)
At 7:13 PM the suspect entered the store and stole food and fled the store.

Stolen Vehicle – 200 block of Ramona Ave
 At 6:54 PM an officer reports the victim left his car keys in the door lock of his pickup parked in front of the residence. Around 5:11 PM, an unknown suspect stole the victim’s vehicle. The incident was captured on video surveillance. The vehicle was later located by San Pablo PD in their city unoccupied.  

Shoplift– 1000 El Cerrito Plaza (Lucky): 
At 7:13 PM an officer reports the suspect exited the business without paying for merchandise. 
 
March 14^th
Arrest for Attempted Burglary and Warrants – 5800 block of El Dorado Ave.
At 8:13 AM the suspect kept banging on the victims door and removed window screens to several other residences in the area.  Officers were unable to locate the suspect at this time.  At 9:39 AM the same suspect attempted to open the front door to a residence in the 5600 block of Central Ave.  Officers located the suspect and learned he had three warrants for his arrest.  The suspect was arrested, booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

Stolen Vehicle – 11700 block of San Pablo Ave.
The victim left their keys in their parked vehicle from 3:30 PM to 3:40 PM and when they returned their vehicle had been stolen.

Tampering with a Vehicle – 6400 block of Schmidt Ave.
At approximately 4:45 PM a subject was arrested after he was found sleeping in a resident’s vehicle that was parked in the carport.  The subject was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

Tampering with a Vehicle – 700 block of Richmond St.
An unknown suspect shattered a window to the victim’s vehicle and damaged the ignition.  The incident occurred on March 13^th at 4:00 PM to March 14^th at 5:00 PM.

Attempted Robbery – 1000 El Cerrito Plaza (Lucky):
At 7:04 PM an officer reports the suspect entered the store and selected merchandise and walked towards the front of the store.  When employees attempted to stop the suspect, the suspect pushed past the employees and a struggle ensued over the stolen merchandise.  The employees were able to recover the property and the suspect fled the scene.

Shoplifting / Drug Paraphernalia / Warrant Arrest – 670 El Cerrito Plaza (CVS):
At 9:16 PM an officer reports the suspect entered the store and selected several items.  As the suspect exited the store with the stolen merchandise, they were detained by officers.  The suspect also had an outstanding felony arrest warrant from Marin County for burglary.  The suspect was arrested, booked at ECPD, and then transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.
 
Battery – Parking lot of 10650 San Pablo Ave (CVS):
At 9:21 PM an officer reports the victim was seated inside his vehicle with the windows rolled down when an unknown suspect threw a liquid substance hitting the vehicle and the victim.  No injuries reported.

March 15^th
Shoplifting – Skechers 5805 Cutting Blvd.
At approximately 3:57 PM the suspect entered the store and stole merchandise and fled the business.

Battery – 3300 block of Belmont Ave.
At approximately 5:32 PM officers responded to a fight involving 4-5 individuals.  The victim attempted to intervene and was punched in the face by a suspect.  The subjects involved in the fight fled in their vehicles prior to police arrival. 

Brandishing a Weapon- 11300 block of San Pablo Ave:
At 8:51 PM an officer reports an unknown suspect approached the victim on foot and threatened to kill the victim after brandishing a knife. The victim drove away and called the police to report the incident. Officers canvassed the area and did not locate the suspect. At 9:38 pm, an officer located a subject who matched the description of the suspect in the same area. The officer obtained the subject’s name and conduct follow-up with a photo array the next day. The victim identified the subject the officer had contacted as the suspect.  The case will be forwarded to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for possible charges filed on the suspect.   

Stolen Vehicle- Schmidt Ln/ Kearney St.
At 4:39 AM an officer located the victim’s 2000 Lincoln Continental that had been reported stolen to the Oakland PD on 3/14/2023. Officers conducted an enforcement stop and arrested the driver.  The driver was booked at ECPD and then transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.

March 16^th
Robbery- 11794 San Pablo Ave. (Marshalls):
At 8:33 PM an officer reports two suspects entered the store and began loading duffle bags with merchandise. Loss Prevention agents contacted the suspects and asked them to pay for the merchandise. The suspects walked up to the cash register line as if they were going to pay. Moments later both suspects walked towards the front door and attempted to exit when contacted by security, one of the suspects brandished a Taser. Both suspects fled the store with stolen merchandise.

March 17^TH
Petty Theft – 1800 block of Liberty St:
At 8:34 AM, an officer reports theft of license plates from a 2007 Mitsubishi sometime between 10:45 PM on 3/16/2023 and 8:30 AM on 3/17/2023.

Vehicle Tampering – 2300 block of Tamalpais Ave:
At 9:18 AM, an officer reports unidentified suspects jacked up a Toyota Prius and partially cut the catalytic converter in an apparent attempt to steal it.  The suspects were scared off by an alarm and left empty-handed.  Surveillance video footage existed that showed the time of occurrence as 5:23 AM.

Vandalism – 2300 block of Tamalpais Ave:
At 10:51 AM, while investigating the above vehicle tampering, the officer was flagged down by a neighbor who reported an unidentified suspect shattered the right rear window of his parked Audi at 5:24 AM this morning.  There was surveillance video footage of the incident.

Tamper with Vehicle-800 block of Kearney St: 
At 6:20 PM, an officer reports an unknown suspect entered the victim’s unsecured vehicle and caused damage to the ignition, but was unable to start the vehicle. The suspect then stole the radio. The incident occurred in between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM on March 17^th.
 
Battery- San Pablo Ave/ Carlson Blvd: 
At 8:16 PM, an officer reports the victim was sitting at the bus stop when the suspect thought the victim had taken something from their bag. The suspect punched the victim several times in the face with their fists. Several witnesses began yelling at the suspect and they fled into the El Cerrito Plaza. 
 
Shoplift-11545 San Pablo Ave (Ross): 
At 9:52 PM, an officer conducted a security check at Ross when he was flagged down by an employee in regards to a theft. The officer detained the suspect without incident and the suspect was placed under Citizen’s Arrest by the employee. The suspect was issued a citation and released at the scene.
 
 
Vandalism/ Trespass- 1700 block of Lexington Ave: 
At 9:41 PM, officers were dispatched to a suspicious person detail. The caller reported several subjects were going through their garbage bins. Officers responded to the residence and located a broken window to a home that was under remodel. Officers located and detained a suspect that was inside the house. The homeowner was contacted and placed the suspect under Citizen’s Arrest. After booking, the suspect was transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.   
 
March 18^th
Shoplift – 5805 Cutting Blvd (Sketchers):
At 11:22 AM, an unidentified suspect stole two pairs of shoes.  When asked if he was going to pay he fled the business on foot toward the BART station.

Shoplift – 6050 El Cerrito Plaza (Barnes & Noble):
At 12:32 PM, a repeat offender known to store employees stole merchandise and fled the store. 

Shoplift – 11545 San Pablo Ave (Ross):
At 12:44 PM, a repeat offender known to store employees selected merchandise and fled the store without paying for it.

Possession of a Glass Pipe - 10636 San Pablo Ave (24 Hour Fitness): 
At 8:11 PM, officers were dispatched to the business for an unwanted subject. An employee advised the male suspect walked into the women’s restroom and was smoking narcotics in the sauna. Officers located the suspect inside the restroom and detained him.  During a records check, officers discovered the suspect was currently on active probation and conducted a probation search. The suspect was found to be in possession of a glass pipe commonly used for smoking narcotics. The suspect was issued a citation and released from the scene.
 
 Shoplift- 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross): 
At 9:03 PM, an officer was dispatched to an unwanted subject known to shoplift. Upon arrival the officer’s arrival, the suspect had fled the store with unpaid merchandise.