OAKLAND — The burglary crew wasted no time.
Just 12 minutes after forcing a man and his 11-year-old son out of 2018 Dodge Ram, the group of three allegedly used the vehicle to ram in the front end of a Gamestop on East 9th Street in Oakland. Seven minutes later, they drove the Dodge through the front of a Lululemon store on Broadway, according to police.
The incidents were the first two of eight burglaries or attempted burglaries that occurred around Oakland over the next week, all involving the same Dodge that was used as a battering ram on various storefronts, authorities said. Police haven’t announced any arrests and are still working to identify the group.
It all started on Sept. 29, at around 6:45 a.m., when the Dodge’s owner was filling his tank on the 4200 block of Foothill Boulevard, authorities said. His young son was still in the truck when three men ran up and carjacked him at gunpoint, allowing the boy to exit the vehicle before they fled, authorities said.
The truck would be used in two burglaries that day, then in six more on Oct. 4, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and loss. The group was indiscriminate, targeting liquor stores, retail outlets and restaurants, authorities said. The only consistent detail was their use of the Dodge to ram the storefronts open, along with a second vehicle whose driver appeared to be serving as a lookout.
The Dodge’s use in these crimes ended a little before 6 a.m. on Oct. 4, when it was used to ram in the front of a 7-Eleven on Broadway. The burglars attached a rope to an ATM, connected the other end to the Dodge and sped off.
But they didn’t get far, apparently miscalculating how effective it would be to make a getaway while towing an anchor. The Dodge and the ATM were found in the middle of the street, a short distance away, while the burglars used their second vehicle to make a getaway, authorities said.