Spooky Thefts

These stolen decorations were recovered by El Cerrito police.

El Cerrito police working the graveyard shift today arrested four Berkeley adults and booked them on charges of grand theft of more than $950 worth of Halloween decorations. Sergeant Aaron Leone said the suspects were then taken to county jail in Martinez.

More than two dozen decorations were recovered and taken to the police department where owners can view and reclaim them.

Leone said the bust occurred after patrol officers were called at 4 a.m. today (Wednesday) about a suspicious person in the 700 block of Colusa Avenue. Officers who responded spotted a car which they pulled over and found was filled with fake skeletons. An officer stopped three men who were walking and carrying Halloween decorations.

At the time of the arrests, the El Cerrito resident who called the police identified some decorations that were being stolen and immediately recovered them, Leone said.

He said the four college-age suspects confessed that they knew one another and were stealing decorations.

“It’s hard when your car’s full of it and you’re carrying it,” Leone said.

Later Wednesday morning, El Cerrito officers were assisting Kensington police with an unrelated matter when they asked whether any thefts of Halloween decorations had been reported there. It turned out that residents of three Kensington houses were missing decorations.

Those residents were notified and were expected to visit the El Cerrito police station later Wednesday to identify and claim any missing items, Leone said.

As of noon Wednesday, ECPD had not received any other reports of stolen decorations.

“Please contact our dispatch center at 510-237-3233 if you were the victim of Halloween decorations theft,” a press release said. “We would like to get the decorations back to their rightful owners.”

These stolen decorations were available for owners to claim at the El Cerrito police department.