5 Arrests, 59 Stolen Vehicles Recovered From Looted San Leandro Dodge Dealership
SAN LEANDRO (CBS SF) -- Police have made five arrests and recovered 59 vehicles, mostly high-priced Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcats, that were stolen during a night of looting following an outbreak of violence associated with anger over the death of George Floyd.
As he watched looters ransack a Nike outlet across the street, the owner of the San Leandro Chrysler/Dodge dealership ordered his employees to secure the building and car lot the best they could and then get to a safer location.
The looters storm into the dealership, smashing windows and gaining access to a lock box containing keys to the cars on the lot. Moments later, video was recorded of cars roaring off the lot, some with drivers spinning the tires, leaving behind skid marks.
In all 74 new vehicles were stolen the night of June 1. Across San Leandro, dozens of stores were looted, ransacked and the Walmart was set on fire during the night of violence.
Carlos Hidalgo from the dealership told KPIX 5 as he surveyed the damage the next day that all the vehicles had tracking devices installed within their frames.
"We have trackers on them so we're seeing the ones that out there," he said. "They are racing around everywhere."
San Leandro police told KPIX 5 that two of the arrests had been made in Coalinga and three were in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was not known if the fatal officer-involved shooting by California Highway Patrol officers of 23-year-old Erik Salgado as he drove one of the stolen vehicles on an Oakland street Saturday night was included among the arrests.
Protesters gathered at Elmhurst Middle School in Oakland Tuesday afternoon, demanding answers from investigators surrounding Salgado's death.
Oakland police did provide a report of the investigators' findings hours later.
According to the report, just before 10:46 p.m., CHP officers advised they were in the area of East Oakland conducting follow-up investigation regarding a shooting that occurred the night before on freeway 580.
"While in the area of East Oakland officers advised that they observed a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat 2018, 2 door, red sedan, driving recklessly," the report said. "Officers conducted a check of the license plate and were alerted to a lost/stolen plate that did not match the Dodge Hellcat."
As the CHP officers got out of their vehicles to conduct a stop, the driver of the Dodge Hellcat began ramming CHP vehicles. Three CHP officers discharged their firearms in the direction of the driver of the Dodge Hellcat, which was also occupied by a female passenger.
"The driver sustained multiple gunshot wounds and later succumbed to his injuries," the report read.
No injuries to CHP officers were reported.
Salgado's pregnant girlfriend was in the car and survived as was in stable condition, but an activist protesting on Tuesday told KPIX 5 their unborn child did not.
"Eric and Brianna's child did not make it. She has passed away. And so the police have murdered their unborn child as well as Erik," said Hoku Jeffrey with the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action.
There was a growing memorial of candles and flowers at the siwere the shooting happened Saturday night.
Other investigations into the shooting were still ongoing.