Man, 45, arrested with six minors for Bay Area robberies

A 45-year-old Bay Area man and six minors were arrested last week on suspicion of burglarizing 26 businesses, police said.

The burglaries, which occurred from March to August of this year, were all investigated by the San Jose Police Department. Many of the targeted businesses were smoke shops, but other businesses were also broken into, including some outside of San Jose, SJPD said in a Tuesday news release.

The seven suspects used a repeated tactic during the alleged burglaries, in which they’d crash stolen Kia or Hyundai vehicles into the buildings, police said. This would allow them to gain entry to the businesses. After stealing merchandise, the suspects would flee the scene in their stolen vehicle, police said.

Since 2021, Kia and Hyundai vehicles have been stolen across the country at high rates, with some state attorneys general alleging that the automakers, which share a parent company, had failed to implement appropriate anti-theft devices on the vehicles for 11 years. A viral TikTok trend earlier this year involved people posting videos specifically demonstrating how to steal these vehicles using a USB connector. 

SJPD said after that obtaining arrest warrants for the minor suspects and search warrants for several homes, officers found two firearms. The juveniles were subsequently arrested in San Jose last Wednesday and booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of burglary and unlawfully possessing firearms.

The 45-year-old man was also arrested and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on “firearm, narcotic, and child endangerment charges,” SJPD said. 

SJPD is not sharing the children’s ages. In an email to SFGATE, the department said that the 45-year-old suspect knew at least one of the minors. 

Anyone with information about the burglaries is urged to call the San Jose Police Department at 408-277-4521 or email [email protected].