Local News

OAKLAND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― The wave of armed robberies continued in Oakland with four more establishments hit over the weekend - and with gunmen becoming increasingly violent.

Another employee was pistol-whipped during a second take-over style robbery in Oakland on Sunday, according to the Police Department.

The most recent robbery was around 10:30 p.m. when two, masked suspects robbed a seafood restaurant in the 2000 block of MacArthur Boulevard and pistol-whipped the employee, police said.

A nail salon employee was also reportedly pistol-whipped in a separate take-over style robbery around 5 p.m. at the salon in the 6600 block of Telegraph Avenue.

Two other take-over style robberies were reported on Friday and Saturday and no one was injured.

No suspects have been arrested.

Police say they can't confirm if the robberies are being committed by the same group or if they're copycats. A $30,000 reward is being offered for information leading to arrests.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and the city's police chief say they're increasing patrols and stationing undercover officers outside businesses.

On Monday, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and Police Chief Wayne Tucker asked for the public's help in trying to catch the culprits responsible for the robberies.

Referring to those responsible for crimes that have terrified city residents, Dellums said at a news conference at police headquarters that, "People in Oakland know who they are" and "the community has to step up" and provide police with information such as the license plate numbers of the suspects.

The mayor announced that there is now a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the robbers.

Tucker said, "We're asking for the public's help in catching the people who are doing this."

He said people with information should call police at (510) 777-3211.

Tucker said, "I want to assure the public that we take these crimes very seriously and are working on this around the clock."

Tucker said the total of armed robberies is actually down two percent this year compared to this time last year and "we don't have a huge spike in crime." But he admitted that the number of takeover-style robberies the last two months is higher than it was during the same period last year.

Dellums said the takeover robberies are incidents that "tear at the fabric of society" but vowed that "we will not succumb to fear."

"I am confident that ultimately our strategy of prevention, intervention and increased police presence will resolve this situation," he said.

The mayor said Oakland currently has a deployment of 789 police officers, which is its highest total ever, and that number will increase to 834 officers by the end of the year.

Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Israel, referring to the robbers, said, "Make no mistake, we will catch them."

Israel said Oakland police already have arrested 52 robbery suspects over the last two months, although those suspects weren't involved in the recent string of takeover robberies.

Police spokesman Jeff Thomason said investigators think there's more than one group of robbers committing the recent string of crimes.

Dellums said he thinks that the culprits are robbing restaurants and other businesses because "these are targets of opportunity."

He said the businesses "have ready cash that is significant and can be obtained quickly."

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