Undercover police detectives in San Leandro chased and arrested two men who are accused of robbing and burglarizing cars parked outside of bank branches.
The first incident happened on March 18 at 2:40 p.m. when an Asian woman called police to report a man had smashed her car window to steal her purse. The victim was sitting inside her car at the Bank of America branch located at 1925 Marina Blvd. when the robbery occurred.
Police were able to get a description of the getaway car that was used.
The department said they responded by staking out parking lots at shopping centers and banks by increasing patrols in marked and unmarked police cars in search of the getaway car.
Police said detectives “in covert operation” observed the same vehicle in the parking lot of the Chase Bank at 1320 Fairmont Drive on April 5 at 12:40 p.m.
According to police, one of the suspects from the vehicle burglarized a parked car in the bank parking lot. That’s when they chased two suspects in a getaway car until it became disabled.
Police said they arrested two men, the driver, Kevon Mitchel, 19, of Oakley, and the passenger, Devonyae McClay, 19, of Antioch.
Officers recovered evidence from the Chase Bank burglary. They also found a handgun with a 32-round magazine from the getaway car.
“We deployed our officers in uniform and covert operations where there was a need and where their presence would help in capturing these suspects,” said San Leandro Police Lieutenant Ali Khan. “This case is an example of the hard work put in by the officers in capturing the suspects.”
Mitchel and McClay face robbery, burglary, eluding officers, and weapons charges from the March 18 Bank of America robbery, and the April 5 Chase Bank burglary.
Robberies in the East Bay have been increasing. Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said his city has seen robberies soar 50 percent from 226 in 2020 to 340 so far this year. He said every district of Oakland has been impacted by the spike in robberies.
In March, Hayward Police fatally shot a robbery suspect at a Motel 6 parking lot. The suspect was linked to a dozen of robberies of elderly women, many of them Asian, according to KRON-TV.
The suspect targeted the victims after they went to the bank or used an ATM machine, according to police.
On Feb. 9, an Asian man in his mid-60s depositing money at the San Leandro Marina Blvd. Bank of America branch was knocked to the ground and bloodied during a strong-arm robbery at the ATM.
Four robbers fled with his cash. Many East Bay law enforcement agencies have been working together to see if robberies happening in their respective communities are connected to other crimes regionally.
Asians make up 34 percent of San Leandro’s population but account for a higher percentage of robbery victims than other ethnicities, according to the East Bay Times.
San Leandro Police said it would continue “to deploy additional staff to suppress further crimes.”
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