Proprietors of Oakland smoke shop targeted by burglars plead for help

By DA LIN

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    OAKLAND, California (KPIX) — Businesses in Oakland’s Little Saigon District are crying out for help. They say crime is out of control and they need city leaders to step up.

The owner of Lucky 7 Cigarettes, located in a shopping plaza near the corner of East 12th Street and 7th Avenue, said burglars have targeted her store 10 times in the last three years. The most recent incident happened on Thursday at around 4:30 a.m.

Surveillance video showed about 10 people in four different cars trying to break into the shop.

Masked burglars attached a chain to the front metal gate then used a Jeep to pull open that gate. But, because the store has multiple gates and plywood to reinforce the entrance, the thieves could not get inside.

The damage was done. They ripped open the metal gate, causing the owner thousands of dollars to repair the storefront.

“When I came to look at my store, I saw it. I cried because I’m hurt,” said the owner, who asked KPIX to not release her name because she fears for her safety. She said that, of the 10 burglary attempts, thieves have gained entrance six times to steal cigarettes and cash.

“Maybe I cannot keep my store. Maybe I close. Makes me hurt,” the store owner said.

“We really need to investigate this type of incidents, collect fingerprint, DNA, whatever — get to the bottom of it,” said Jim Nguyen with the Little Saigon Business Improvement District. He said that, since burglaries are considered low priority, the police department doesn’t have enough resources to investigate them. He said that needs to change.

Oakland police reported burglaries in the city have risen 42 percent this year compared to the same period last year.

Nguyen also demanded the city to reimburse businesses and pay for the damage.

“She’s got an estimate of how much this thing will cost her. Well, the city should do something about it,” Nguyen said. “We don’t want people to leave Oakland. We don’t want people to close up shop. That’s gonna make Oakland even worse.”

Lynn Truong owns Sun Hop Fat Supermarket in Little Saigon. The Vietnam war survivor said many businesses are losing money because shoppers are scared to come to the district. They tell her Oakland is too dangerous.

“(I fled) the war, come here — like a war again,” Truong said. “I don’t know if we survive or not.”

The cigarette store owner said in her 25 years in business, it’s never been this bad. She said she’s lost tens of thousands of dollars in those burglaries and she’s not aware of any arrests in her cases.

“I hope the city — they help some of the businesses and help my store,” she said.

City council president Nikki Fortunato Bas represents the Little Saigon area. She said the city is working to support small business through programs she added to the city budget, which was approved by the council.

She mentioned the small business Facade Improvement Program, which will continue with $200,000 to support physical and safety improvements for qualified stores that apply for the money.

She said the city will also spend $1 million to hire community safety ambassadors to work in commercial corridors.

Fortunato Bas said the city also approved the hiring of two new civilian investigators to help solve lower-level crimes, adding that the city is also considering Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) solutions such as better street lighting.

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