Wondwossen Tadesse makes pizzas at his pizzeria in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008. Tadesse’s Skyline Pizza restaurant was robbed earlier this week. (Paul Chinn / The Chronicle)
Christopher Heredia, San Francisco Chronicle
As Oakland reels from a string of takeover robberies at restaurants, police promised Friday to beef up patrols and use Guardian Angels in commercial areas, while merchants were asked to increase security with cameras and vigilance.
In the past month, hooded or masked gunmen have burst into eight restaurants from Piedmont Avenue to East Oakland, stealing money from customers and clerks. The holdups, on the heels of a similar wave of robberies in North Oakland earlier this year, have residents fearing that no place in the city is immune to brazen crime.
“I’ve avoided dining out at night because it’s unsafe,” said Kevin Quan, who lives in the city’s San Antonio district near the King of King Restaurant on East 12th Street, which was hit by three robbers Wednesday night.
Hans Hiller, who works in Oakland and was having lunch at the King of King on Friday, said he is so uncomfortable that he has stopped taking BART to work from his home in Concord because he doesn’t feel safe walking from his office to the station at night.
“In the daytime, it’s OK. It’s light, and people are out,” he said. “Once it gets to be dark, it’s a different story.”
The King of King restaurant and two other businesses have been robbed this week by gunmen wearing dark-colored, hooded sweatshirts. On Tuesday, a pizza parlor in the East Oakland hills was hit by robbers a day after three men robbed the Kerry House bar on Piedmont Avenue shortly before it closed.
Police say the same three men might be responsible for all of the recent robberies. They were described as African American, in their late teens to early 20s, between 5-foot-4 and 6-foot-2 and wearing black hooded sweatshirts and masks. At least one is armed with a handgun.
“With the M.O. (modus operandi) and the suspect descriptions, we’re able to say they’re probably linked,” said Officer Ryan Goodfellow, who is leading the robbery investigations.
Nobody has been injured in the robberies, but police and residents fear the criminals are becoming bolder each time they get away.
On Friday, police released a surveillance video of Tuesday’s robbery at Skyline Pizza on Keller Avenue. Police also offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the eight robberies.
Wondwossen “Tony” Tadesse, a native of Ethiopia who owns the pizza parlor, said that while security cameras and guards help deter criminals, thieves who are determined to get money are hard to stop.
Still, he is taking precautions: He never keeps more than $100 or $200 on hand, putting the rest in a safe. He urges his customers use ATM and credit cards rather than cash.
Mayor Ron Dellums, speaking with reporters Thursday, urged people not to develop a siege mentality and said police and city officials are moving swiftly to make the city’s commercial areas safe.
“There’s no magic answer,” Dellums said. “There’s no silver bullet. When people are desperate, they take desperate acts. We’ve got to keep trying as diligently as we can. … We’ve got to solve this problem. We can stop it.”
Christina Trieu, owner of King of King Restaurant, said she wants Dellums and Chief Wayne Tucker to send more officers to patrol the neighborhood where her business is located, especially after dusk.
She also wants city officials to take more seriously merchants’ and residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety. A streetlight has been broken in front of her business for several months, she said. She’s been in contact with city officials, who have promised to fix the light as soon as possible.
“We hope for no more of this to happen,” Trieu said Friday. “We want it to be safer. We want to bring our customers back.”
Capt. Rick Orozco urged merchants and patrons to be vigilant in watching for and reporting suspicious people or behavior, such as groups of young men lurking in dark clothing.
He said officers will be out in marked and unmarked vehicles, and city officials will work with merchants to install surveillance cameras and reduce the amount of cash on hand.
Police would not say when or where the Guardian Angels would be out in commercial districts in their trademark red windbreakers and berets, but they hope the added security presence will make merchants and customers feel safer doing business in Oakland.
“Any time you’re in a restaurant, and you’re having dinner with your family, and somebody comes in and robs it, that’s a serious situation, and we’re taking it extremely seriously,” said Sgt. Roland Holmgren.
E-mail Christopher Heredia at [email protected].