While a spate of robberies and carjackings by multiple crews still may not be over, Oakland police say they've arrested three individuals who they believe were working together on a spree of carjackings, including an attempted one earlier this week that was caught on dashcam video.
Oakland's Violent Crime Operations Center (VCOC) announced Thursday that they had made three arrests the day before, July 26, after identifying a vehicle and an individual whom they believe was involved in the attempted carjacking on Skyline Boulevard that was seen widely on video on local television news broadcasts earlier this week.
Woman escapes apparent armed carjacking or robbery attempt near Skyline & Keller in Oakland hills. 2 guys in Dodge Charger block her, and she drives around them as one opens fire. @oaklandpoliceca pic.twitter.com/nAkD85w0oq
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) July 26, 2023
After spotting the suspect vehicle, a white Dodge Charger, on Wednesday, "VCOC officers attempted to stop the vehicle in the 2600 block of E. 12th Street, however, it took off. With the assistance of OPD’s helicopter (ARGUS), the vehicle was followed to the City of San Leandro. The three occupants in the vehicle fled on foot, however, they were safely taken into custody by VCOC officers."
The three suspects have not yet been named — two are reportedly adult males, and the other is a juvenile male.
Oakland police say that they've linked these same individuals with multiple armed carjackings that have occurred in the Tompkins Avenue neighborhood, Crestmont, Sequoyah Heights, Piedmont Avenue Southeast, and the Skyline-Hillcrest Estates neighborhood.
The arrest occurred the same day that the video was disseminated across local media — it had been posted to Nextdoor by the female near-victim, and the incident occurred last Friday around 8 a.m.
"They pulled in front of me," the woman told KTVU. "The guy jumped out, ran towards me with a gun. I punched it I ran around their car and I drove away as fast as I could to try to get some place safe."
The woman added that she's been driving this route on Skyline for 38 years.
"I feel very fortunate that no guns were fired, no cars were crashed, no people were on the street," she told KTVU.
Meanwhile, carjackings and violent robberies of this sort seem to be on the rise on both sides of the Bay. Last weekend, a carjacking in which a victim was minorly injured led to a flying leap and flip of the victim's car over a 50-foot drop at the Sanchez Street steps, at 19th Street. The occupants of that car all fled the scene before authorities arrived, but San Francisco police announced Wednesday that two individuals had been arrested in connection with the carjacking. Both are residents of Nob Hill.
Related: Carjackings, Robberies, Juvenile Crimes On Rise — Just Another Pandemic Hangover?
