Oakland police announced Wednesday the arrests of multiple men in connection to at least 18 armed robberies that all happened in the east side of town.
One of the 15 locations where a series of robberies happened from January to March was on International Boulevard.
“These four individuals were terrorizing innocent victims in our city by pistol whipping them and robbing them of their personal items,” said Lieutenant Seth Neri of the Oakland Police Department.
The majority of victims were Hispanic men, ages 18 to 65.
Police said the robberies usually happened at night, when the men were out for a walk.
It’s a scary situation for Alfredo Palo, who walks everyday to get to work and to get home.
He said that the crime in the area is so bad that he tries to never walk at night unless there is an emergency.
Police said three victims were Hispanic women
Glenda Chalés said it doesn't surprise her. Her business is not far from where some of the robberies happened and she said it’s happened to her too.
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“It scares me because sometimes they came and took things, like juice,” said Chalés.
That’s why her dad picks her up every night after she gets off work
“Because the way it is right now, it is so dangerous, sometimes, other people can take our money or take our things,” said Chalés.
In all, four suspects were arrested in connection to the 18 robberies. Police said they also recovered some of the stolen items.
“These suspects were committing an average to three to four robberies a night,” said Neri.
The cases will be presented to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office for charging.
