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Togo's Was Also Robbed At Gunpoint While Patrons Watched

The Westgate Center sandwich shop was robbed before WalMart and Home Depot. Counting Safeway, that makes four such stickups in San Leandro in four months.

 

The recent string of armed robberies of occupied stores is worse than previously known.

We know about the Safeway, WalMart and Home Depot that were held up while patrons watched.

Now Patch has learned that the Togo's in Westgate Shopping Center was the target of a similar heist on December 15.

San Leandro police confirmed Wednesday that a lone gunman entered the sandwhich shop at about 7 pm on that Saturday before Christmas, ordered everyone into the back of the store and forced an employee to open the safe.

The robber fled on foot with an undisclosed sum of cash.

No injuries were reported. There has been no arrest in the case.

The previously unreported Togo's heist came two days before a pair of gunmen stuck up the WalMart in Westgate Center. One person is in custody and another is being sought for that holdup.

Most recently, on Tuesday night, a pair of gunmen held up the Home Depot in the same shopping center, and escaped with cash.

That makes three store stickups in Westgate Center in a month.

In late September five armed men terrorized the Safeway on Bancroft Avenue and escaped with cash. 

There have been no breaks in that case.

That comes to four times in four months that armed robbers have stuck up stores filled with patrons.

San Leandro Police Lieutenant Randy Brandt said the Safeway robbery was the most unusual of the lot given the size of the gang.

He noted that authorities have made some headway in the WalMart case.

But holdups are difficult to crack unless police get hard evidence, a confession or, as is often the case, one of the perpetrators gets arrested for some other offense.

"There has been an unfortunate rise in such crimes throughout the Bay Area," Brandt said.

(Patch will have more on the robberies.)

 

Rabbi Ruth Adar January 17, 2013 at 02:46 pm
While it may be that negotiators need to cut a better deal when current contracts come up for negotiation, the city has to honor its current commitments. The comparison to NYC is interesting.
Oakland is right next door, and it's a mess, crime-wise. That is another reality for which there is no fast fix. Do we have any data about where these guys are coming from? Are there things that businesses or residents can do in the short term to make SL a less attractive target?
David January 17, 2013 at 03:32 pm
Cops regularly retire (in their 50's of course). Replace every 2 (about the yearly retirement rate) with 3 new recruits at the new pay scale. Eventually we end up with 120 or so cops which is much more in line with the national average for policing levels. And honestly, $50k for a 23-25 year old is a very decent wage (about the median household income for San Leandro, in fact, which often has 2 earners and is certainly older), with the ability to nearly double that by age 30.
About 1/3 of crimes in SL are committed by Oakland residents, at least when residence is reported. The data gathered is imperfect, to say the least.
Carol Parker January 17, 2013 at 03:50 pm
I read a November 2011 Yelp review of Pretty and Pink, also located at Westgate Center, which claimed that store had been robbed three times that month. I wonder how many other crimes at that center never get reported in the media? Big box retailers seek sites with nearby freeway access, making them desirable to those seeking a quick get-away. Can you imagine how frightened the poor clerks and customers must have been during these robberies? Really makes me rethink encouraging our college age son to get a part-time retail job.
Leah Hall January 17, 2013 at 05:36 pm
Rabbi Ruth Adar asks important questions. I'd add one that's very topical and passionately argued right now: how do we get guns out of the hands of criminals and teens?
And a few more, such as....Why are the loudest and most prominent voices ones parroted by David here and NRA lobbyists and gun "rights" extremists? Why do we not hear more from local law enforcement regarding officers' working conditions and the growing concern that they are sometimes being outgunned by this violent environment?
Leah Hall January 17, 2013 at 05:39 pm
Do these crimes appear on our local crime blotters and simply get missed by media? Carol, will you explain how the media reporting process works as it pertains to Patch and some of the other local news sources?
Carol Parker January 17, 2013 at 05:44 pm
Tom can better address how things work in San Leandro.
Marga Lacabe January 17, 2013 at 06:06 pm
As it happens, we do have data as to where people arrested by the SLPD come from. About 32.5% come from Oakland.
Here are the figures: http://www.sanleandrobytes.com/archives/016522.html
Kate January 17, 2013 at 06:23 pm
I wonder, is there a comparative figure on NY vs. SLPD lawsuits for police brutality/abuse of power? Factor in everything when figuring pay, please.
Kate January 17, 2013 at 06:28 pm
For David:
In the 2011 fiscal year alone, New York City paid out a staggering $550.4 million-- or about $70 per New York resident-- to settle a litany of lawsuits ranging from personal injury claims to medical malpractice. A large chunk of that over half a billion dollar figure-- a five percent increase over the year before-- stems from lawsuits brought against the New York Police Department. Lawsuits against the NYPD cost city taxpayers $185 million, more than any other city agency. Using a report conducted by City Comptroller John Liu, The Daily News reports there were 8,882 lawsuits against the NYPD, a dramatic 35 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. Between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, the NYPD reportedly paid $22 million to settle civil rights cases made against officers.
Kate January 17, 2013 at 06:29 pm
David, it seems you get what you pay for...
andree January 17, 2013 at 06:34 pm
What about marina square any robberies recently?
Kate January 17, 2013 at 07:16 pm
More stats for David (or anyone):
July 2011 NY city population 8,244,910 with 34,500 police force members, or 1 officer per 238.98 people. July 2011 SL city population 86,071. Even if you increase the police force to 120 (as you feel would equal NYPD) that would equal 1 officer per 717 people. Even with basic math, that is a much larger ratio of residents per officer in SL than in NY, but you want them to be paid equally?
Tom Abate (Editor) January 17, 2013 at 07:48 pm
Leah says: Do these crimes appear on our local crime blotters and simply get missed by media . . . explain how the media reporting process works . . .
Answer: the city's daily activity log reports the time, place and basic type of crime, assault, robbery, etc. So that information was published for Dec. 15 and missed by media. But there are no details. A robbery in the log could be a person being held up or a store being invaded. I learned about Togo's by going to visit Home Depot to see if I could learn any more about that incident (I did not). People in the area told of the Togo's holdup. I then asked SLPD for details which were provided and reported.
Leah Hall January 17, 2013 at 08:04 pm
Thank you for the clarification, Tom. That is a theme that resonates because that is often how neighbors and I learn about crimes in and around our block. In other words, one crime event happens, which gets neighbors out of their houses and talking to each other, then we learn from each other about 5-7 other things that recently happened but few had previous knowledge of. I guess this must be one of the benefits of having an active volunteer run neighborhood crime watch. Sounds like the Westgate Mall desperately needs something like this. I wonder if its employers would tolerate and support the concept?
Marga Lacabe January 17, 2013 at 08:08 pm
I don't know, Kate. Does the number of people really matter, or is the crime rate what really is at play? My bet is that if you had one cop per 1,000 residents in Montclair and 1 cop per 100 residents in East Oakland, the cop in East Oakland still has the harder job.
Leah Hall January 17, 2013 at 08:14 pm
How does urban density and illegal guns per capita effect job stress (or efficacy) for police forces? This begs my earlier question...
Why do we not hear more from local law enforcement regarding officers' working conditions and the growing concern that they are sometimes being outgunned by this violent environment?
Kate January 17, 2013 at 08:17 pm
Marga, stats don't play with "what ifs", they are only numbers, which seem to be the basis for all of David's arguments. I am simply giving him numbers to digest.
I would agree with you, though. I am sure if we compared the arrest records of Oakland residents vs SL residents vs Danville residents that Danville would be the lowest. Another result of haves vs. have-nots? I think we are all aware that higher economic areas have a lower crime rate. What to do to change that is the more difficult question.
David January 17, 2013 at 09:46 pm
Kate, are you familiar with the legal history of SLPD?
Marga can fill you in.
David January 17, 2013 at 09:49 pm
...And NYC has a lower crime rate than SL or Oakland (by far).
The point is Kate, for the umpteenth time is that we could hire more officers if they were paid even on the scale of NYPD, which is not a "low-cost" police department. You make my point wonderfully. SL is woefully underpoliced.
David January 17, 2013 at 09:58 pm
Kate, the city recently settled (for $300,000) a discrimination lawsuit. That works out to a bit less than $4/resident.
According to you, NYC settled NYPD-related lawsuits for $22M. That works out to ...a bit less than $3/resident. It seems we're not getting what we pay for... If you're going to try to "battle" me with statistics, it would help if you'd arm yourself.
Jessica Gardner January 17, 2013 at 10:13 pm
Ever since Starbucks left west gate the cops left
Now they hang out at the Starbucks on MacArthur The one by the bagel shop that's why none of those stores get robbed
jeffrey olsen January 17, 2013 at 10:59 pm
You know mr.Tom Abate the police hiring system is a total corruption,it's possible to hire much more better candidates for much more less money,I saw the example of my son who applied for SFPD in 2008, he was with Police Activity League for 6 years cadet-lieutenant ,graduated from UC Berkeley with two majors with honors and not in ethnic studies or political science,but real ones,and he had been so naive for 22 he believed in police brotherhood,despite he saw many samples
of corruption when had been a police station intern.For example food is free for police offices in every restaurant in neighborhood.it's most common sample. He passed all SFPD tests with flying colors and last day SLPD rejected him. The same time the daughter of a former police officer,my co-worker, applied too.She had one year of community college with lowest possible GPA under the belt,two kids from not identifiable men,her father have complained about her relations with gang members permanently,anyway she was recruited to the SFPD Police Academy.I call it the Debby Eagerly police recruiting style,do you remember the Oakland City manager and gang informant the same time connected with East Oakland gangs,who changed police academy tests for her daughter,who was admitted four times to police academy, do you believe San Leandro is different My son asked his tutor from PAL,why,and this guy,who had been a deputy SF chief later said "You know the bad economic now and many connected people come".
Jessica Gardner January 17, 2013 at 10:59 pm
David is prob correct more police equals less crime
There's a Starbucks in marina shopping center and cop cars in and out
jeffrey olsen January 17, 2013 at 11:23 pm
instead SL City Hall invest millions of taxpayers dollars in improvement Rapid AC for delivery East Oaklanders to downtown of San Leandro,quick and with comfort,the best idea of mayor TaxThem-Cassidy
Leah Hall January 18, 2013 at 12:14 am
...because criminals, not folks trying to make a living and/or get to class and with a reasonable commute time, ride the bus. Busses, and any public transit system for that matter, make a great get away machine too. Bad Boys on BART.
Great catch, Jeffrey!
Michael Allen January 18, 2013 at 06:40 pm
Park an empty police car in different spots every day there. Nothing like a little scarecrow action to keep crooks away...
Marga Lacabe January 18, 2013 at 08:07 pm
Scarecrows make great perches for crows to survey the area and locate where to start digging. Or so I read in farming blogs.
I would hope criminals are smarter than crows, but then again, maybe not.
Michael Allen January 19, 2013 at 01:14 am
I would pay to see a gang banger perched on the roof of a police cruiser looking for a score... lol
In all seriousness, I have seen this used before in traffic enforcement... maybe it's worth a shot, minimal/zero cost...
Leah Hall January 19, 2013 at 01:56 am
Is it just me, or does Michael bear an uncanny resemblance?
Paul Blart: Mall Cop - Rotten Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paul_blart_mall_cop/ via @RottenTomatoes
Paul January 19, 2013 at 09:20 pm
I have been to this shopping plaza for 10 years and didn't expect it was that bad.

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anthony June 18, 2013 at 09:24 am
so is Strobridge, Castro Valley Bart...excellent farmer's market too. pick another if you want, IRead More have more as well. www.bridgehousing.com
David June 18, 2013 at 09:30 am
And you think that plunking down a very low income housing project in the middle of cheap housing inRead More San Leandro is more like Castro Valley? or more like West/East Oakland. It's more like the latter. Can't wait for the drive-by shootings and muggings to ratchet up when we thrown away $9M in tax dollars on building a new downtown SL BART ghetto.
Rob Rich June 18, 2013 at 12:35 pm
It is unfortunate the Bridge has been unable to stop all crime in Oakland. Sadly, that lesson willRead More probably apply to San Leandro too.
Mattie Ignacio June 13, 2013 at 06:02 pm
it was a hundred times better...it is now useless!
Richard Eisenman June 14, 2013 at 11:17 am
I'm not a very regular viewer. Could you be a bit more specific about what changed recently (plusesRead More and minuses)? Thanks.
Opera On Tap Co-Manager, Indre Viskontas
Joanna Dyer June 12, 2013 at 07:16 am
F
Molly Rosen June 14, 2013 at 04:36 pm
One of the best operas ever. I hope to see it. How excited for OOT and San Leandro!
Susan Reisz June 10, 2013 at 07:29 pm
Can you reprint this several times prior to June 27. I don't want people to forget about it? Thanks
Unstable vs. stable world views
Michael Moore June 2, 2013 at 06:02 pm
Leah, do you have the authorization from Disney for the use of the copyrighted Dumbo character youRead More use for your blog? I thought that the policy of Patch was to deny access to non-authorized materials such as this.
Leah Hall June 2, 2013 at 08:12 pm
Nope.
Leah Hall June 2, 2013 at 09:44 pm
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Dumbo-1941-poster.jpg My 13 year old daughter justRead More explained how to search www.creativecommons.org.