Thieves Ram SUV Into San Francisco Bank and Haul Off ATM; Oakland Grocery Store Hit Hours Later
Police are investigating an early-morning ram-raid at a Bank of America branch in the Outer Richmond and a separate attempted ATM theft at an Oakland shopping center, with no arrests reported.
By Mei Ling ·
Thieves drove an SUV into a Bank of America branch in San Francisco's Outer Richmond neighborhood on Wednesday and left with an ATM from inside the building, according to police.
Officers were called at 3:40 a.m. after a caller reported a vehicle crash near the intersection of 38th Avenue and Balboa Street. Police later told The Standard that cash had been taken and that several suspects used a vehicle to break into the bank before escaping in an SUV, heading south on 39th Avenue. No arrests had been made by late Wednesday morning.
A post on Citizen said officers arriving at the branch, located at 3701 Balboa St., found it damaged. They soon learned that an older-model, dark-colored Chevrolet Tahoe had crashed into the building. Moments later, one or two people inside the bank managed to remove an ATM before running off.
The Chevrolet was described as having a roof rack. It apparently suffered damage to its rear end, and its back trunk window was broken.
Separately, Oakland police told The Standard early Wednesday afternoon that officers saw several people flee the scene of an attempted robbery at the Fruitvale Station shopping center, 3000 East Ninth St. In that case, a vehicle was driven through a business storefront to reach an ATM at around 5:15 a.m. Police did not provide specific information tying the incident to the San Francisco theft.
According to Citizen, the Oakland robbery took place at a FoodMaxx grocery store in the Fruitvale neighborhood at about 5:20 a.m. Police received a report of the crash, along with an alert that power had been cut to a Bank of America ATM on the property. Arriving officers found the ATM abandoned in a parking lot outside the store, where thieves had tried to drag it out.
Two vehicles were seen leaving the lot while dragging chains behind them. They were described as a black Cadillac SUV with dark-tinted windows and a blue and gray two-toned Ford F-250 truck. Both were last seen heading south on East Ninth Street before going in separate directions on Fruitvale Avenue.
The San Francisco theft resembles one last month that damaged a CVS drugstore on 32nd Avenue. It continues a spike in such crimes that has worried authorities and San Francisco business owners.
A Bank of America spokesperson did not respond to a request for additional details.
Source: The San Francisco Standard
