Trend in mugging has police worried

Oakland Tribune, Apr 11, 2007 by Alejandro Alfonso

HAYWARD -- Street muggings have become a sport for robbers, Police Chief Lloyd Lowe said during a report to the City Council in February.

That's when FBI crime statistics were released showing robberies in the city jumped 30 percent from the first six months of the previous year.

"It's almost as though it is a sport," he said. "People are just being robbed when they are walking down the street, even if the robbers don't get anything. It is something that we're seeing all over the Bay Area."

Evidence that this trend is continuing came over the weekend, when six people were arrested on suspicion of robbery.

The first incident happened about 4:50 p.m. Sunday, when three robbers assaulted a man in the parking lot of Steve's Liquor, 1145 W. Tennyson Road, as he walked to his car, police Lt. Reid Lindblom said.

The man, who was not seriously injured, ran back to the store and called police, who found the suspects nearby.

Chez Fiaavae, 19, and John Pekipaki, 19, both of San Jose and David Mainuu, 25, of Hayward were arrested on suspicion of robbery. The man's car keys, the only thing taken, were recovered, Lindblom said.

The second incident happened about 11:45 p.m. Sunday at A Street and Mission Boulevard, when a man using a pay phone was approached by three juveniles who asked for a cigarette.

The youths punched the man, and when he fell to the ground and curled up to protect himself, one of the robbers took his wallet from his pocket, Lindblom said.

The three boys then walked away as the man called police and followed them from a distance, Lindblom said. When police arrived, they arrested the suspects identified by the victim and recovered the man's wallet, he said.

The three boys arrested were all juveniles -- a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old from Oakland and a 15-year-old from Pinole, Lindblom said.

Reach Alejandro Alfonso at (510) 293-2469 or at aalfonso@dailyreviewonline.com.