Rob AriasNeighbors in Emeryville and North Oakland are banding together to thwart a man caught on surveillance video stealing plants and packages from their yards and porches.
Neighbors say the so-called “Plant Bandit” has repeatedly returned to the same properties over the past few months, stealing potted plants and even trees under the cover of night. One stolen lemon tree had been a gift from a neighbor’s late grandmother, making its loss particularly painful.
Several Ring cam videos posted on the Ring Neighbors App and shared online have helped neighbors network and determine the same man was responsible for the thefts.
The suspect captured on the video is a balding white male with grey hair who appears to be in his 60s or even early 70s. His thieving is not exclusive to plants. Another video shows what looks like the same man wearing an Atlanta Braves baseball cap stealing an Amazon package from a porch.
Apparently unaware that neighbors were on to him, the thief returned to the one of the same properties on Monday evening where neighbors were already on alert. EPD dispatch was called with officers arriving within 15 minutes and were able to detain the suspect.
Surveillance videos were shown to the Emeryville Police, but officers determined the videos did not clearly show the suspect’s face and were unable to make an arrest.
While disappointed they have not been able to recover their property, residents see the coordinated response as a win. “Our neighbors thought it was a great example of us working together and with EPD,” one neighbor told The E’ville Eye.
With police now aware of the man’s identity, it would be rather brazen of him to continue to steal from the same area. ”It may mean the Plant Bandit will now widen his thieving quests to other Emeryville places instead since he now is aware our community is very responsive and EPD can show up fairly quickly,” this same neighbor added.
With the the identity of the suspect now publicly known, neighbors hope the added vigilance and public awareness will discourage further thefts—or even lead to the recovery of the stolen plants.
If you have additional information of the thief that might lead to the recovery of their property, please contact the Emeryville Police Department Investigations Unit at (510) 596-3700 and reference Incident No. 2509150110.
It’s not under cover of night…..
See how bright those streetlights are?
During the wee hours, when nobody’s on the street, these bright lights have a dual effect:
they may give some criminals pause for concern they’ll be observed. But for other criminals it means they can operate with impunity, without needing to use a flashlight or other methods that would call attention to themselves. It rather seems the de-planter is in the second category. A nightly shutdown of the street lighting would deny him the cover.
Neighbors working together. I love it.
I’m in Oakland and a man stole a plant from my porch last night. I wonder if it’s the same guy?