Man arrested in string of stickups at East Bay Asian restaurants EAST BAY Oakland teen held, others sought in monthslong spree

Oakland police have arrested one suspect and identified another person blamed for a rash of armed robberies at Asian restaurants in the East Bay.

Lance Lindquist, 19, of Oakland was arrested Sunday, with a plane ticket in his pocket to fly one-way to Florida the next day, said Officer Roland Holmgren.

Lindquist has been charged with 57 felony counts related to the takeover holdups of 11 restaurants in Oakland, Albany, Berkeley and San Leandro, said Oakland police Sgt. Rebecca Campbell.

A second suspect has been identified and remains at large, but police are withholding the name until more victims can view the suspect in a photo lineup, Campbell said. Police are also seeking an unidentified third suspect involved in some of the robberies, Campbell said.

Police have been investigating a string of dinnertime robberies that began around August and involved seven restaurants in Oakland, two in Albany, one in Berkeley and one in San Leandro, Campbell said. The holdups involved two or three gunmen who robbed customers and staff.

The arrest of Lindquist resulted from a Dec. 22 call to police from a tipster alerted by media reports of the robberies based on an Oakland police press conference Dec. 21, Campbell said.

Police recovered evidence linked to the robberies in a search of Lindquist's house, and he confessed after being arrested, Campbell said. Lindquist has a criminal history of alleged theft and assault on a police officer, Holmgren said.

Police released a photo of Lindquist and asked anyone familiar with his acquaintances to contact police.

Asked if Lindquist explained why Asian restaurants were targeted, Campbell said, "Basically, what Mr. Lindquist told me was that he picked restaurants that there were a lot of cars in front of and had a lot of people inside, and that was Asian restaurants."

One restaurant was non-Asian, a Sizzler in Albany, according to Albany police. The other Albany restaurant was the Kasuga Japanese Restaurant.

In San Leandro, the Tsuru Sushi restaurant on East 14th Street was held up about 8 p.m. Nov. 23 when two robbers in hooded sweatshirts entered, ordered patrons onto the floor and took money from the customers and the cash register, San Leandro police said. As in the other stickups, they were armed with a handgun and a long tommy gun, police said.

In Berkeley, two armed men robbed King Tsin restaurant on Solano Avenue about 7 p.m. Dec. 10, collecting valuables and cash from customers and the staff, according to Berkeley police. The same pattern was followed in the Oakland robberies, according to Oakland police, who declined to name the restaurants.

No one was injured in the holdups.

Charles Pine, a member of Oakland Residents for Peaceful Neighborhoods, said the rash of robberies underscores a dangerous degree of understaffing in the Oakland Police Department.

He noted that Oakland has approximately 18 officers per 10,000 residents, compared with roughly twice that number shown by 2004 U.S. Department of Justice data for several other cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland and St. Louis. San Francisco had 29 per 10,000 residents, according to the data.

"Oakland has half a Police Department," Pine said. "This case, which caused a serious threat to the viability of all Asian restaurants, illustrates the price that Oakland residents and merchants pay for this understaffing of the Police Department."

Crime Stoppers of Oakland is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the robbers.

Anyone with information is asked to call Campbell at (510) 238-3326.