Police Stop Fleeing Gang of Shoplifters

Update: 2:15 p.m. Sunday, details added

A Walnut Creek officer on patrol Saturday noticed three people running from a downtown store to a car with piles of clothing in their arms and suspected a "grab and run" shoplifting spree was underway.

When the dust had settled, four Oakland residents had been arrested while a fifth suspect had escaped, according to a news release.

At 6:30 p.m. Officer Basil Alfaqih was driving on Broadway near Mount Diablo Boulevard when he noticed the running suspects, said Lt. Steve Gorski. Alfaqih was accompanied by a reserve police officer.

The news release gives the following version:

"The officer watched the three subjects get into a nearby waiting vehicle. As he pulled up behind the car, one person got out of the vehicle and ran away on Duncan Street toward Main Street. Another subject in the vehicle attempted to flee on foot but was detained in the car with three other people. The officer saw numerous clothing items strewn about the car with security sensors still attached. An employee of a nearby H & M clothing store identified several of the detained individuals as having just come from their store. Approximately $1,000 worth of clothing was recovered and found to have been stolen from H & M.

"Officers searched the area for the outstanding subject but did not locate him. He is described as a black male in his 20s or 30s, wearing a cap and a blue striped shirt. The subject also had some type of piercing between his cheekbone and his eye."

In addition to the "grabbed" merchandise from H&M, other clothing items were found in bags and purses in the car, said Gorski.

Police are following some leads in trying to identify the suspect who fled on foot from the H&M robbery, and two who escaped by vehicle from.
 
Arrested were:

• Jomal Levell Reed, 29, of Oakland.
• Nequasha Tanaya Potts, 34, of Oakland.
• Marcus Dwayne Reed, 31, of Oakland.
• An unidentified female juvenile, age 16, from Oakland.

The charges were burglary, possession of stolen property and conspiracy. The two Reeds are being held for parole violations, police reported.

The three adults were booked into county jail in Martinez.

Walnut Creek police reported .