Teen burglary ring busted after Bay Area spree

Bay Area police have broken up a teen burglary ring they say was linked to nearly 80 homes and vehicles across multiple counties, ending a months-long crime spree that included stolen firearms, vehicle thefts and a suspected fencing network worth about $250,000. Concord police said the case stretched across Concord, Contra Costa County and Solano County before arrests were made this summer.

Investigators say the group broke into parked cars in the early morning hours, used stolen garage door openers to enter attached garages and took power tools, firearms and other valuables. Concord police released surveillance footage from the investigation under the title “Teamwork Leads to Arrests in Regional Armed Burglary Series.” In one recorded incident, investigators said the suspects pointed a firearm at the door between a garage and a home and appeared to wait for a homeowner to come out. Police also said one burglary led to the theft of 14 firearms from a single garage.

Detectives ultimately connected the suspects to 37 vehicle and residential burglaries in Concord and about 40 more in the surrounding counties. Police said the group also stole multiple vehicles and used them in further crimes. The suspects repeatedly got away during the investigation. In May, an officer tried to stop a suspected getaway vehicle, but the driver allegedly fled and prompted a pursuit that was later called off for public safety reasons. During a separate wave of burglaries in June, officers found another suspect vehicle, but the suspects escaped again. Later that month, juveniles allegedly ran from a crash scene on foot, and officers recovered a firearm even though the suspects were not caught at the time.

The case began to come together in late June, when Concord detectives working with Richmond police identified four juveniles believed to be involved. One was already in juvenile hall on an unrelated matter, while arrest and search warrants were obtained for the other three. In July, Concord police SWAT carried out simultaneous warrants with help from Antioch police, Pittsburg police, Central County SWAT and the U.S. Marshals Service. All three remaining suspects were arrested, and searches of their homes turned up two firearms police said had been stolen during the burglaries. A third stolen firearm had already been recovered by Richmond police in a separate case.