BERKELEY– An 11-year-old boy was among five juvenile suspects arrested Tuesday after they fled the scene of a laptop robbery in a vehicle carjacked at gunpoint in Oakland the day before, authorities said.
During a police pursuit the suspects’ vehicle crashed into another vehicle before hitting and injuring a person sitting on a bench, police said.
The laptop robbery happened about 2:23 p.m. Tuesday at a coffee shop in the 1700 block of Fourth Street.
Authorities said witnesses got a license plate of the vehicle the suspects fled in, a Toyota Camry, and a check determined it had been taken in an Oakland carjacking the day before.
Berkeley officers spotted the car in the area of Sacramento and Cedar streets. When officer tried to stop the vehicle it continued driving with officers in pursuit.
The Toyota collided with another vehicle at University and San Pablo avenues before going out of control and hitting a nearby bench where a person was sitting. That person suffered a leg injury that required hospitalization, police said.
The five occupants of the carjacked vehicle, Oakland residents who ranged in age from 11 to 15 and included two girls, fled from the vehicle on foot but were soon arrested, authorities said
Authorities said the Toyota was taken at gunpoint from a man Monday in East Oakland. Two of the suspects arrested Tuesday, including the 11-year-old, were identified as the carjackers, authorities said.
Police in several cities are working to determine if the suspects arrested are responsible for similar crimes, authorities said.