Thieves caught on camera stealing garage door openers to break into East Bay homes

DANVILLE, California – A quiet East Bay neighborhood has been hit by thieves who have stolen garage door openers from cars and broken into homes. Danville police are warning residents about crimes of opportunity.

Neighbors in the community off Crow Canyon Road said they felt violated. Several neighbors woke up Sunday morning to find themselves face-to-face with the group of thieves on their property.

The group was caught on surveillance camera breaking into cars, garages and homes. They were seen driving a white Honda Accord in the neighborhood around 7 a.m. Sunday.

“They’re brazen,” said neighbor Mike Pawlawski, who said he caught them breaking into his garage while he was there. “They broke into my car, took the remote control from my car to blow up the garage.”

“Three of these guys came into my garage, black hoodies, masks, the whole shebang,” Pawlawski said. “I yelled at them, gave chase, they got to the car and sped off.”

“They came and they were super quick. They got out of the car, they split up and it was really obvious they were looking for garage door openers,” said another neighbor, Billy Grove.

In one case, they entered a house where a woman and her children were staying. The woman chased them away when neighbors said the men had tried to steal her car.

“As they were running away from her, they were laughing at her,” said Jeff Su, who collected surveillance video from neighbors.

Danville police said at least eight cars were broken into and five garages were broken into.

“Danville police responded very quickly and were able to initiate a pursuit immediately,” Su said.

Neighbors complained after they said Danville police had to end their pursuit at the Contra Costa County-Alameda County border.

“Once they got through Dublin, the perpetrators, the criminals, got away,” Su said.

Just two weeks ago, a car full of thieves was caught doing the same thing in Moraga on a Sunday morning.

Moraga police said about 15 cars were hit and four homes were searched.

In both cases, police said many of the cars were unlocked, making it a crime of opportunity.

Police cannot confirm whether the two cases are linked, but residents of the Danville neighborhood are now on high alert.

Officials are reminding residents to lock all their doors. They also recommend not leaving their garage door opener in a visible or accessible location.

Police asked if anyone in the community has additional information to assist in the investigation, they can contact Sergeant Daniel Lynch of the Danville Police Department at [email protected] or 925-314-3703.