Crime Blotter: Lounge Brawl, After-School Robbery, Bal Broken into—Again

No license plate leads to gun, pot: An officer was driving southbound on Hesperian Boulevard about 10:40 p.m. May 19 when he got behind a gray Lexus SC400 without a license plate. He pulled the car over on the 15200 block of Hesperian, near the public storage facility, according to the police report.

While the officer engaged the two suspects, two young men in their early 20s, in conversation while waiting for the return on their names, he smelled marijuana wafting from the car, the report said.

The officer called backup to confirm the smell, and when officers inquired, the suspects said they were around people smoking pot, police said. Officers searched the car, finding not pot but a loaded handgun in the back behind the driver's seat, according to the report.

Officers arrested the suspects on suspicion of possession of the gun, which was not registered to either of them; each denied ownership of the gun, police said. Police then towed the vehicle after learning that its registration expired in August, 2006.

Once booked into the San Leandro Police Department's jail, officers found one of the suspects in possession of a small glass canister of marijuana, authorities said. It was submitted into evidence but the suspect was not charged with possessing the substance, according to the police report.

Not so fast: On May 18 police responded to the at 3:50 a.m after a motion-activated alarm in the lobby was set off.

The responding officer said he did not witness any cars leaving the area from E. 14th Street upon his arrival. When he got out to investigate, he found glass had been smashed on the theater's south double doors, creating a hole large enough for a person to climb through.

The officer said he noticed that inside the lobby, the door to the building's Mac and PC Repair shop appeared tampered with but remained closed.

The theater was previously robbed in March, when thieves stole an estimated $60,000-$70,000 worth of computer equipment from the repair shop. According to the police report, after that incident owner Dan Dillman reinforced the door frame and locks, which the officer said appeared to have prevented Wednesday's attempted theft.

Robber apprehended: San Leandro police arrested Richmond resident Myron Sandefur just after 1 p.m. on May 18 in connection with a May 17 armed robbery and a theft on May 13. 

Sandefur was detained by the Richmond Police Department after San Leandro detectives identified Sandefur and provided Richmond police with information regarding the vehicle he was driving.

According to police, Sandefur robbed a victim at gunpoint after he attempted to sell the victim a television in the Fairmont Square parking lot on Tuesday. Police say the man also deceived a victim the previous week by selling him a piece of wood wrapped up as a television.

"If somebody is trying to sell you an expensive item such as a flat screen television in a parking lot, it’s probably some type of scam. Please report these individuals to the police. In this case our suspect became desperate and started using a weapon to help facilitate his crime," San Leandro Police Lt. Jeff Tudor said.

Convenience store robbery: Police were dispatched to the on May 18 about 9:45 p.m. regarding an armed robbery that had just occurred.

According to the police report, an employee said he was outside getting some fresh air when two males walked around from the rear driveway and approached him. One man had a handgun pointed toward the ground and the other grabbed the employee by the neck, forcing him back inside the business, the report said.

Once inside, the man with the gun pushed the employee toward the front counter and then grabbed him; the employee struggled and was hit in the back of the head with the gun, according to the police report.

During this time the other man went up to a second employee behind the counter and demanded he open the cash register and remove the tray; the employee obliged and the man removed an estimated $40-$50 from the tray, according to the report. The two employees then lay down on the floor until the suspects left.

According to the police report, the responding officer viewed video footage of the incident and observed the suspects fleeing back to the rear driveway. The officer also retrieved a live 9mm bullet about 35 feet from the store's entrance, the report said.

The employee struck in the head was bleeding, but at the time of the incident refused further medical treatment, police said.

Mid-morning home invasion: On May 16 in the 400 block of Foothill Boulevard, a about 10:30 a.m. and two men armed with black semi-automatic handguns forced their way into the house, police say.

The men beat the woman, possibly breaking her arm, then ransacked the residence, taking some cash, a gun and a silver 2000 model Mercedes-Benz sedan from the residence, according to Tudor. The woman was treated at a local hospital and released, Tudor said.

Witnesses think quickly: At 3:15 p.m. on May 16, an officer was hailed regarding a robbery that had just occurred on Bancroft Avenue near Warrren Avenue.

According to police, the victim, a 17-year-old female, reported that a male rode past her on a bicycle and hit her in the upper chest. The victim noticed a gold chain she had been wearing was missing from her neck and attempted to chase after the suspect, Tudor said. 

Witnesses were present when the crime occurred, Tudor said, and one was able to take a photograph of the suspect and turned the photograph over to the police department. 

The following day at about 2:30 p.m., undercover officers in the area of E. 14th Street and Sunnyside Drive observed a person matching the suspect description, according to Tudor.

The man, Bernen Montoya, was detained and it was determined he was the individual who committed the robbery, Tudor said. Montoya was arrested and also had several outstanding warrants for his arrest, according to Tudor.

Bar stabbing: San Leandro police responded to an emergency call just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, May 15, about a stabbing at .

Officers didn't find any victims at the bar but noticed blood splattered in the parking lot and located two men with massive head wounds at San Leandro Hospital, according to police.

The two said they had each been stabbed in the back of the head during a . About an hour later, police detained Alex Pasillas, 36, near his home in San Leandro in connection with the incident. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide, police said.

Police do not know what type of weapon Pasillas used in the crime. The stabbing victims were treated for their wounds and later released.

Attack on the dance floor: A young woman and her friend were dancing at the  about 11 p.m. Saturday, May 14, when a group of young girls began dancing around her, according to the police report.

One of the girls punched the young woman in the face, and after a few moments the group of girls began beating up the two women, the report said. During the altercation, one of the suspects cut one of the women across the nose with a small sharp object, according to police.

The two were able to escape, and the victim's friend drove her to Summit Hospital. The victim sustained a small laceration across the bridge of her nose that required treatment, two black eyes and bumps to her forehead, the report said.

She did not report the crime to police until May 17, when she visited police headquarters, police said. The victim told officers she wishes to press charges against those who assaulted her, according to the report.