FILE PHOTO -- Crowds of shoppers walk around at the Stoneridge mall in Pleasanton, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group) (Dan Honda)

PLEASANTON -- Two teens suspected by police in recent violent purse snatches outside Stoneridge Shopping Center are part of a gang believed to be responsible for other robberies throughout the East Bay, authorities said.

The two 16-year-old boys were arrested Monday in East Oakland along with two 16-year-old girls. Officials said the girls were present for some of the robberies, but it wasn't clear which ones.

Two other teenagers are being sought in the series, authorities said. No names have been released because of their ages.

Besides the Pleasanton robberies, the group is suspected of robberies in Oakland and cities in Southern Alameda County and Contra Costa County and the Bayfair, Orinda and Lafayette BART stations in the last week, authorities said.

Authorities said the suspects would carjack high-end SUVs and use them in street robberies and other carjackings.

The silver Mercedes SUV the four teens were riding in Monday was taken during a carjacking at the Bayfair BART Station on Saturday, authorities said. A pellet rifle used in some of the robberies was recovered in the vehicle, authorities said.

The Mercedes SUV was spotted Monday afternoon in Oakland just a few blocks from the San Leandro border by San Leandro police investigating another crime. They pursued the SUV before it stopped in the area of Stone and San Leandro streets. The four teens were arrested trying to walk away.


A 63-year-old woman and 17-year-old girl were uninjured but lost their purses in the two Pleasanton robberies, which both occurred at Stoneridge mall over the weekend.

In the first robbery, about 8 p.m. Saturday, one of three male suspects punched the 17-year-old girl after getting out of a silver Honda Pilot outside P.F. Chang's China Bistro in the shopping center's parking lot, just after 8 p.m., police said. The suspects took the purse, then fled in the Pilot, police said.

The San Leandro BART carjacking of the Mercedes happened about an hour later.

Witnesses told Pleasanton police the suspects got away in the same color and make of SUV after the second strong-armed robbery, which occurred on Sunday around 1:30 p.m. in the Stoneridge parking lot. The 63-year-old victim fell to the ground during a struggle for her purse and a suspect kicked her in the back, police said.

"From (surveillance) video, detectives were able to see that it was a silver Mercedes SUV that was taken during the carjacking," Pleasanton Lt. Kurt Schlehuber said. "And the suspect description matched, so we were able to link the two incidents pretty quickly."

The four arrested so far are being held at Alameda County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of a variety of charges, including carjacking and armed robbery while police in the different agencies gather more evidence to get them formally charged. .

The four arreContact Rick Hurd at 925-945-4789 and follow him at Twitter.com/3rderh