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Crime & Safety

Police Arrest Five Teens Linked to Albany, Berkeley Robberies

A robbery on Pomona Avenue on Tuesday night is believed to be connected to a robbery in Albany over the weekend on Madison Street, police said. Click "Keep me posted!" down below for notifications of future robberies in Albany.

Police arrested five young men from San Pablo and Richmond, and recovered two BB guns, after a robbery in Albany and an attempted robbery in Berkeley on Tuesday night. 

Police are investigating whether the robberies are connected to others in the area, and have already linked them to one robbery days earlier in Albany, said Detective Sgt. Dave Bettencourt of the .

A 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old girl, both Albany residents, were walking on Pomona Avenue near Washington Avenue at about 9 p.m. on Aug. 16 when a car pulled up beside them, he said.

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Three young men got out of the car, showed weapons to the victims, and told them to put up their hands, he said. Two others stood behind the assailants during the robbery. 

The robbers took property from the victims, then drove off. The crime was reported to the Albany Police Department, which put out a "Be on the Look Out" alert with surrounding agencies.

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Soon afterward, two people in Berkeley were accosted less than two miles away, at Chestnut and Virginia streets, by a group matching the description from the Albany incident. 

A Berkeley police officer in the area spotted a car matching the description from the crimes at about 9:30 p.m. near 10th and Virginia streets, said Bettencourt. 

During a traffic stop of the car, the officer saw evidence in plain view that led him to investigate further. Police brought victims from the Albany and Berkeley robberies to the car; they were able to identify members of the group from the incidents above. 

Bettencourt said police found stolen property on a couple of the suspects, as well as two "realistic looking" BB guns in the car. 

According to police, some members of the group admitted to the Albany robbery from Pomona, as well as a  on Saturday night. 

Police arrested Cristian Hernandez, 18, Alex Jesse Meza, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, all of San Pablo, as well as Edwin Almanza-Garcia, 18, and a 16-year-old boy, both of Richmond.

Hernandez is being held with a bail of $205,000 at Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of robbery. 

Meza is being held with a bail of $155,000 at the Glenn Dyer Detention Facility in Oakland on suspicion of robbery and attempted robbery.

Almanza-Garcia is being held with a bail of $120,000 at Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of robbery. 

All three also were arrested in connection with possessing stolen property, and are set for arraignment at 2 p.m. on Aug. 18 at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.

The two minors were taken to Juvenile Hall, Bettencourt said. 

"The Berkeley Police Department did a phenomenal job," he added, "from the time the officer spotted the car, to locating the evidence, to being in contact with us to bring our people over to make the identifications. It really helps to be able to coordinate closely with other agencies. It makes all of our cases stronger." 

Berkeley Police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said Berkeley robbery detectives "are in the process of completing follow-up investigations, interviews and researching any and all cases that may be related to these suspects," adding that the department "consistently reaches out to other agencies to find out if they have had robberies with similar descriptions and M.O. as part of their due diligence."

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