A pack of young punks allegedly turned the Bay Area into their personal smash-and-grab playground, hitting 77 homes and vehicles, ripping off power tools and guns, while using stolen rides to fuel the crime spree.
The four juveniles were blamed for 37 burglaries in Concord and roughly 40 more in other cities across Contra Costa and Solano counties, authorities said.
Their alleged MO was simple and brazen: hit cars in the early-morning hours, grab garage-door openers and use them to get inside homes’ garages looking for more loot.
But the crew allegedly escalated from property crime to a far more chilling threat.
In May, surveillance video caught armed suspects pointing a gun at the door between a garage and the home, apparently anticipating that someone inside might come out. During another burglary, they allegedly walked away with 14 firearms from a residential garage. The suspects also allegedly stole multiple vehicles and used them to commit additional crimes.
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Cops tried to stop suspected getaway cars more than once. One suspect vehicle tore away from a May traffic stop at high speed, forcing officers to abandon the pursuit over public-safety concerns.
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Another suspect vehicle escaped police in June.
In a separate June burglary, the juveniles crashed while fleeing, jumped out and ran, but still managed to evade capture. A firearm was recovered.
The break finally came after Concord detectives, working with Richmond police, identified the four juveniles. One was already sitting in Juvenile Hall on an unrelated case outside Concord.
In July, Concord SWAT teams, backed by cops from Antioch and Pittsburg, Central County SWAT and the US Marshals Service, launched a coordinated sweep.
Three outstanding suspects were arrested.
Searches of their homes turned up two guns stolen in Concord burglaries. Richmond police had already recovered a third stolen firearm. The juveniles face complaints filed by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
Their names were withheld because they are minors.
Investigators then followed the alleged stolen-goods pipeline to Wuillian Cordova-Cubias, 37, of Oakland. Police say Cordova-Cubias repeatedly bought tools from the suspects, often right after the burglaries.
When cops raided his Oakland home, they allegedly found a staggering stash: a massive quantity of power tools, a stolen ATV, a stolen forklift, an unregistered firearm and other valuable property worth about $250,000.
Prosecutors charged Cordova-Cubias Friday with receiving stolen property, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, conspiracy to commit a crime and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
He was booked into Concord police jail and is now being held at the Martinez Detention Facility.