The office building on the end of Collins Avenue off of Hegenberger in Oakland was the target of a break-in Saturday morning. The building is an office space that houses 16 small businesses and local organizations, according to Ken Houston, a partial owner of the building.
Surveillance video from one of those offices shows four people breaking in and rifling through the office Saturday morning. The building itself is full of shattered glass from where Houston said the thieves kicked down windows and doors.
Houston is also the director of the nonprofit Beautification Council which has office space in the building. He believes thieves got in through a fence, broke into the building and then ransacked each of the offices.
NBC Bay Area crews walked around the office space with Houston and saw a podcast studio with equipment taken, files and paperwork scattered in the offices, and wooden doors broken from being kicked in.
Houston noted that some personal items like family mementos and digital files were taken as well.
"It's terrible," said Jesus Arellano, CEO of Innovative Building Inc., which has office space in the building.
"We come in to do our work and now we got to spend a few days working so we can repair our stuff," said Arellano, who was born and raised in Oakland. "No matter how things have been in the past, people think they can get away with a lot more now," he said.
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This building has been a local business center for about 12 years, Houston said. More recently, he's been worried something like this would happen.
Less than a mile away, a mob of people robbed a gas station earlier this month. The In-N-Out burger, also less than a mile away, shut down in March due to ongoing crime.
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At the start of the year, the Denny's down the street from this office space closed citing safety concerns. The Denny's building is still standing empty nearby.
"We’ve been complaining out here for years and we said it was coming, and when Denny’s left, we’re the last on the block," Houston said.
He wants to see more proactive efforts by the city and state to deter crime and punish those behind it.
Houston said if the situation doesn't improve, it may be too much for his small business and others.
"I'm a son of Oakland, born and raised, 3rd generation. I grew up in these streets, grew up here. I'm thinking about leaving," Houston said.
Houston said police are investigating. NBC Bay Area reached out to OPD about this incident but we have not heard back.
