Crime & Safety
More Burglaries, Arrests In Orinda
Oddly, a string of residential burglaries shows no sign of abating in Orinda, though police - aided by residents - are making arrests.
Quick-thinking residents who alerted Orinda police about suspicious activity in their neighborhood were able to guide officers to three individuals allegedly found in a car loaded with recently stolen items.
On May 6, at 2:17 p.m., a Dalewood area resident told police that a suspicious
white male in his 40s, driving a white four-door sedan, was knocking on doors asking for a non-existent address.
Officers set up patrol cars near Miner and Camino Pablo looking for the the man and eventually stopped a white 4-door Mercury at Ardilla and Camino Pablo. Three men were inside - along with jewelry, a computer, and other items police suspected may not have been theirs.
Within minutes of the traffic stop a nanny returning home to the 500 block of Miner Road called police and reported that the home of her employer had been burglarized. The homeowner later identified the stolen items found in the car as her belongings and police arrested the three suspects for burglary, possession of stolen property and conspiracy.
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According to police reports, the loss to the homeowner was estimated at $4,830 and damage to door and doorframe done when the alleged thieves made entry was estimated at $500.
Earlier in the month, on May 2 at 8:40 a.m., Orinda Police were dispatched to a report of a residential burglary in the unit block of Estates Drive. The 64-year-old resident told officers she had left home early in the morning and found the back door and the garage door smashed in by thieves upon her return later that day.
Two coin jars with $150 worth of change were taken.
Officers canvassed the area and asked neighbors if they had noticed anything suspicious, but they were unable to locate any possible suspects. The damage to the two doorframes was estimated around $800.
And again on April 28, at 1:20 p.m., Orinda Police responded to a call of a residential burglary in the 10 block of Charles Hill Road. The 36 year-old resident told officers that unknown suspects had pried open a locked garage door and entered his home.
According to police reports, the thieves took a laptop computer, two cell phones and a wooden jewelry box containing medically-approved marijuana – approximately ½ ounces. Officers said it appeared the thieves walked out through the front door.
