Burglars ransack 16 Oakland businesses located in Hegenberger Corridor
Burglars kicked down doors and ransacked 16 small businesses in East Oakland's troubled Hegenberger corridor.
All the affected businesses are located inside an office building at 8055 Collins Drive, which is situated right behind the Denny's Restaurant that shut down earlier this year citing crime.
The building co-owner and community activist Ken Houston said the thieves cut through two layers of fencing to get into the property around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
"You can see the fresh cut marks on here," said Houston as he pointed at a large hole in the fence.
Burglars first broke into a new podcast studio built out of a shipping container located in the parking lot.
"It's where we teach children how to use technology and where you can speak your voice," said Houston. "They used a crow bar right here (to pry open the door). They busted a window here. And they stole all of our computers, laptops, mics, cameras."
That was just beginning, after they cleaned out the podcast studio, thieves broke a back door to go into the office building.
Surveillance footage showed multiple thieves kicking down doors once inside. The businesses range from construction to a barber shop.
"They kicked this one open, and this tenant just moved in here. You can see her boxes, she's just moving in. So you think she's going to want to stay here with this happening to her? I don't think so," said Houston.
Barber Kris Prater discovered the break-in when he opened his shop at 9 o'clock in the morning. He called 911 and alerted neighboring business owners.
"Born and raised in Oakland, it's more disappointment (than angry) because seeing how the city used to be, and now you have to stay alert, you've got to remain vigilant," said Prater. "A lot of loyal, good people come to support local businesses. But how long can it last when you have constant crime."
"As small, minority businesses, when things happen like this, it's a big set back," said Carl Gordon, owner of Gordon Plastering.
Gordon said thieves stole his laptops and construction tools.
"We live in a place where people just feel like they can get away with crime. It's sad, real sad," said Jesus Arellano of Innovative Building Inc.
Arrellano said he was still assessing the damage, but lost mostly electronic devices.
"They took my laptop with all my business information on it, bank accounts, everything. So now, I have to call the banks and cancel everything," said Maria Ramirez, president of Oakland's Beautification Council, a nonprofit organization.
Ramirez said they also stole her personal camera that had footage of her child taking the first steps. She said that was the biggest lost for her since she will never be able to retrieve that video.
Business owners said the thieves left with cash, tools, cameras, a lot of laptops, and other valuables. The break in happened just a few days after the Oakland mayor, police chief, and other department heads came to visit the office building and Collins Drive because of ongoing crime concerns related to a homeless encampment located on the dead end street.
About a dozen RV dwellers park on the street and inside the parking lot of Denny's Restaurant after it shut down this year. And now workers and customers have to drive pass the encampment to get to the office building.
"We need help to keep the city alive because if (these small businesses) leave, what's going to happen to this area. Look what's right there, the only reason why (those RV's are) not down here is because of the positive activity we have out here and the blocks that were placed here to stop them from blocking and parking on the sidewalk. If we weren't here, it would be a wrap," said Houston.
The business owners don't believe the thieves are connected to the encampment. But it highlighted the many different problems they face.
"I'm a son of Oakland, I feel like leaving. I feel so down right now," said Houston.
The building was just in the process of setting up surveillance cameras. So, there's limited footage of the burglars. The Oakland Police Department said no one has been arrested in the case.