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 December 31^st to January 6^th.

December 31^st

Vehicle Theft / Vehicle Burglary – 7300 block of Gladys Ave:

An officer reports that a vehicle was stolen sometime overnight.  The vehicle hit on Flock WB Macdonald Ave at 45^th St at 1:17 am.  The victim’s other vehicle was also burglarized.

January 1^st

Stolen Vehicle – 5300 block of Barrett Ave
At 7:07 AM Officers report a vehicle was stolen sometime overnight, likely around 1:15 am. 

Grand Theft – 500 block of Kearney St
At 8:36 AM Officers report the front rims and tires were stolen from a vehicle.

Shoplift/Possession of Narcotics Paraphernalia – 1000 El Cerrito Plaza
At 3:02 PM Officers accepted the citizen’s arrest of a suspect for shoplifting and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.  Cited and released for all charges.

Grand Theft- 11450 San Pablo Ave (Safeway):
At 9:40 PM an officer reports the loss prevention officer recognized a subject from previous thefts and asked him to leave. When the suspect was denied entry into the restroom he fled the store with merchandise.

Stolen Vehicle- 1000 Block of Richmond St:
At 4:12 AM officers were dispatched to an in progress auto theft. The victim called and reported hearing a bang coming from the front of her house. When the victim looked outside, she noticed her truck was being driven away. An officer located the vehicle several blocks away and conducted an enforcement stop. Officers detained the driver and took him into custody. After booking the suspect was transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 
 
January 2^nd

Criminal Threats – Korematsu Middle School
At 3:32 PM Officers report a threat of violence from an Instagram post. 

Shoplifting – 11565 San Pablo Ave (Walgreen’s)
At 3:30 PM Officers report a suspect entered the store and took merchandise. 

Organized Retail Theft – 10794 San Pablo Ave (Marshall’s)
At approximately 3:58 PM Officers report three suspects entered the store and took clothing. 

Petty Theft – 9800 San Pablo Ave
At approximately 4:56 PM Officers report the victim placed her purse on middle handrest of her vehicle and rolled the passenger’s side window halfway down.  A suspect reached in and took the purse off the center console and fled. 

Stolen Vehicle Recovery- 500 Block of Liberty St:
At 4:00 PM, a CSO conducted a records check on a suspicious vehicle and discovered it was reported stolen to the CHP.  The vehicle was recovered.   

January 3rd

Petty Theft – 11319 San Pablo Ave
At 6:34 AM Officers report a suspect entered Chevron selected merchandise and passed all points of sale without paying. 

Petty Theft - 6300 block of Eureka Ave
At 9:18 AM Officers report a suspect took license plates from a vehicle and replaced them with stolen plates.

Battery - 11382 San Pablo Ave: 
At 11:07 PM an officer reports the suspect walked up to the victim and accused him of taking his sister’s vehicle. The suspect pushed the victim. Officers discovered the suspect suffers from a mental illness condition and the victim did not want to pursue charges.
 
Terrorist Threats / Annoying Phone Calls- 1000 Block of Liberty Street: 
At 10:58 PM an officer reports the victim was getting threatening messages from someone they knew. The suspect became upset and called the victim several times and threatened to kill them. Officers located the suspect when they arrived at the victim’s residence and placed them under arrest. After booking they were transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.
 
Stolen Vehicle- 6500 Block of Moeser Ln: 
At 3:14 PM an officer reports an unknown suspect stole the victim’s vehicle.
 
January 4^th
 
Residential Burglary / Conspiracy - 2000 block of Tapscott Ave
At 2:27 PM officers were dispatched to the 2000 block of Tapscott Ave in response to a report of a trespass.  Upon arrival, officers contacted the homeowners who described the front gate (typically locked) and a window next to the front door was broken which would have allowed access to the door handle and deadbolt.  K9 units from Richmond PD and El Cerrito units arrested two suspects found inside of the house.  The suspects were transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.

Theft - 7200 Block of Fairmount Ave:
At 6:32 PM an officer reports an unknown suspect stole the rear license plate from the victim’s vehicle.

Robbery- 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross):
At 6:19 PM an officer reports a Loss Prevention Agent noticed the suspect concealing items into a bag. When the agent confronted the suspect, he threatened to shoot him. The suspect then fled through the emergency exit with the merchandise.

Vandalism- 6000 Potrero Ave (PetVet PetFood): 
At 4:47 AM officers responded to the business for an audible alarm. Upon arrival, officers located forced entry on the front door of the business.

January 5^th

Burglary – 5900 block of San Diego St:
At 2:59 PM an officer reports an unidentified suspect entered a garage in the apartment building via an unlocked window and stole property.

January 6^th

Grand Theft – 7900 block of Cutting Blvd:
A maintenance vehicle was stolen from the golf course between 2:00 PM on 1/5 and 9:00 AM on 1/6.

Robbery / Arson – San Pablo Ave / Carlson Blvd:
During a “Ceasefire” demonstration, one of the demonstrators pushed a counter-protester to the ground and yanked her flag away from her.  The suspect also snatched a flag from around the neck of a second counter-protester.  He then walked into the street and burned one of the flags. 

Robbery – 2000 block of Key Blvd:
At 4:15 PM the victim was on his phone when an unidentified suspect came up behind him and tried to take his backpack off his back.  The victim turned to confront the suspect, and the suspect snatched the victim’s cell phone out of his hand and fled.

Arson- 11555 San Pablo Ave (DD’s Discount):
At 11:33 PM an officer was dispatched to a garbage can fire. ECFD was on scene and extinguished the fire.

Possession of a Controlled Substance- 11720 San Pablo Ave:
An officer was patrolling in the area when he noticed a suspicious person. During the contact the officer located a baggie of suspected methamphetamine. The subject was transported to the ECPD for booking. After booking, the subject was released on a citation.

Residential Burglary- 2600 block of Arlington Blvd:
At 3:05 AM officers were dispatched to an audible alarm at a residence. Upon arrival they discovered a garage door and the front door of the residence unsecured. The homeowners responded to the scene and conducted an inventory of their residence and did not discover anything missing. Upon review of the camera system they located video of an unknown suspect inside their residence.