Fifth Oakland Chevron Gas Station Hit by Smash-and-Grab Burglars in a Single Week

OAKLAND, Calif. — A wave of destructive commercial burglaries has once again hit local gas stations, with a Chevron service station located at 3420 San Pablo Avenue targeted in a brazen overnight smash-and-grab. This incident marks the fifth time in a single week that a Chevron location in Oakland has been struck by thieves utilizing vehicles to break in and target store safes.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Friday, March 14, 2025. Suspects used a vehicle to ram through the storefront's glass entryway, bypassing reinforced security gates and heavy concrete bollards that had been cemented into the ground to deter such attacks. Once inside, the perpetrators quickly loaded the station's heavy safe into their vehicle before fleeing the scene before law enforcement could arrive.

Earlier in the week, on March 11, 2025, a series of near-simultaneous burglaries targeted three other Chevron stations in Oakland's Montclair, Redwood Heights, and Lakeshore neighborhoods. While those initial attempts caused extensive structural damage, the burglars were unable to successfully remove the safes. However, subsequent successful thefts later in the week have left franchise owners and managers deeply frustrated.

“We have installed bollards, alarms, and reinforced glass, but they still find ways to ram the buildings at different angles,” said a spokesperson for the station operator. The repeated crime wave has also raised significant safety concerns for overnight store employees, with some staff members choosing to resign rather than face the threat of violent break-ins during their shifts.

The Oakland Police Department is currently investigating the string of burglaries, looking for connections between the vehicles and suspects involved. Under current OPD pursuit policies, officers are restricted from chasing suspects involved in property crimes, which business owners argue has emboldened criminals to continue their brazen operations across the city.