OAKLAND — A 16-year-old boy has been charged with more than a dozen felony counts in a two-day crime spree that included armed robberies, kidnappings and an attempted rape, authorities said.
The suspect was arrested March 8 and charged Tuesday. He is in custody at Juvenile Hall.
Police said the crimes the youth is accused of happened Feb. 27 and March 2 in both North and East Oakland. In each case he was armed with a gun that has not been recovered.
Police said about 10 p.m. Feb. 27, a half-hour after he unsuccessfully tried to rob a fast food restaurant in the 6200 block of Telegraph Avenue, he confronted a man walking his dog in the 6100 block of Canning Street and demanded his valuables. When the man said he had nothing with him, he was forced to walk to his home a few blocks away where he was made to get his wallet. The victim was then made to walk to a bank at Claremont and College avenues where he was forced to withdraw cash from an ATM, authorities said.
Police said the youth also tried to rob a woman at the same ATM but she was able to resist him and flee
Authorities said on March 2, after robbing a 40th Street coffee shop and a restaurant near Highland Hospital, the youth entered a dry cleaners not far from Lake Merritt about 9:25 a.m. where a woman was working alone. Authorities said the woman was forced into a back room where the suspect said he was going to have sex with her. The woman begged him not to and he fled with her purse and money from the register, authorities said.
Investigators said patrol officers did “a fantastic job” identifying the youth and linking him to the different crimes through video surveillance and witness and victims’ statements.
A probable cause warrant was issued for his arrest. About 1:30 p.m. March 8, members of Crime Reduction Team 2, assigned to an unrelated operation, spotted him walking near a relative’s North Oakland home and arrested him. Evidence linking him to the crimes was found at the home.
The multiple charges filed against the youth include counts of armed robbery, home invasion robbery, kidnapping for robbery or rape, attempted robbery, attempted rape and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
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