Robbers target casual carpool line in Oakland

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Three hooded robbers targeted people standing in an Oakland casual carpool line on Monday morning, demanding smartphones and other valuables from the commuters at gunpoint as some complied and others ran away, police and witnesses said.

The stickup, which happened before 9 a.m. on Hudson Street near Claremont Avenue in the affluent Rockridge District, was startling even in a city with one of the nation's highest robbery rates.

The thieves appeared to take advantage of a central feature of casual carpooling: The self-regulated stops, where solo drivers pick up passengers so they can use the diamond lanes while heading to San Francisco, are popular with commuters carrying expensive electronic devices.

By the end of the day, though, the public nature of the crime may have backfired on the robbers. At least two suspects were arrested, city officials said, thanks in large part to witnesses in and out of the carpool line.

Mayor Jean Quan called the crime "totally unacceptable" and said it was a symptom of the city's understaffed police force.

"Growing our force and increasing our cooperation with the public will continue to send the message that if you commit a crime in Oakland, we will find you and we will arrest you," she said.

Methodical robbers

According to police, about 20 people had queued up for a ride in Rockridge, at a stop that sits under Highway 24, when they were accosted by three men in hoodies who demanded their valuables.

Two men went to the back of the line, while a third went to the front and pointed a gun at the riders, eliciting a shriek of terror from one. The assailants robbed the commuters one by one of phones, wallets and bags, said a 38-year-old Oakland man who was among the victims.

He said about seven people were mugged, and that he was relieved of a backpack containing multiple electronic devices.

"There were people who kind of scattered like pigeons and people like me who froze in place," said the man, who did not want his name used because he feared retribution from the robbers.

The man said that when the gunman approached him, he asked, "What do you want?"

"Give me your bag," the thief replied.

Another victim said he handed over his items before the crooks asked. "I had heard too many stories of people trying to play hero, having too much attachment to their items," he said.

The victim, a 26-year-old Danville man who also didn't want his name used, said he is now considering taking BART to work. Before Monday, he said, he assumed any potential danger from casual carpooling would involve the stranger who picked him up.

New twist on old issue

The robbers fled in a silver Honda Civic, police said. A neighbor told the victims that she may have gotten a partial license plate of the car. Oakland police said a vehicle was later stopped and that occupants were arrested.

Investigators were asking nearby residents and business owners with video surveillance to contact them.

Dan Kalb, the city councilman who represents the Rockridge area, said robberies had been a stubborn problem in the neighborhood, but that he had never heard of casual carpoolers being targeted.

"This is another example of a more brazen behavior," Kalb said. "Here they are going into a crowd of 15 to 20 people with cars going by and spending the time to rob people one by one."

Oakland has one of the nation's highest per-capita robbery rates. As of Sunday, the city had recorded 3,856 robberies in 2013, a 24 percent increase from the same time period last year.

Close to freeways

Kalb said he asked police on Monday to station patrol cars near casual carpool pickup spots. He said he was also looking into installing license plate scanners near freeway on-ramps.

"The frustration, impatience and fear throughout Rockridge has gone way up," Kalb said. "In the past few months it has taken a dip where robberies are down, and then they go back up again."

The Oakland man who lost his backpack said that even before the robbery, he had worried that the casual carpool spot could become a target for robbers, especially because of its proximity to an on-ramp to Highway 24.

"I actually wasn't very surprised," he said. "I think the shock of it kind of prevented me from being upset." But some of the other victims, he said, were "kind of freaking out and crying."

After the holdup, the commuters who had run off came back to comfort those who were robbed, victims said.

Tempting targets

On Monday afternoon in downtown San Francisco, regular casual carpoolers said were surprised by the incident, which seemed to combine aspects of a takeover robbery with the growing trend of thieves going after mobile devices.

"They probably saw people waiting in line with their laptop bags," said Brendan Chan, 50, as he held an iPad under his arm and an iPhone in his hand and waited for a ride home to Richmond.

"Or iPhones," added Shirley Kwan, 42, of Pinole.

She said she wouldn't let the robbery deter her.

"I've been doing this for five years and it's been safe," she said. "It won't stop me from taking carpool."