PALO ALTO — A group of burglars rammed a rented SUV into the floor-to-ceiling glass front of the University Avenue Apple Store early Sunday morning, police said, ransacking the store before dashing away.
Of the eight to 10 burglars, police soon arrested four suspects.
The predawn theft came on the heels of a series of grab-and-go robberies targeting Apple Stores throughout the Bay Area, with speedy thieves snatching iPhones, iPads and other gadgets on display.
“This was a pretty brazen act,” said Palo Alto police Sgt. James Reifschneider said, “when somebody breaks their way into a business after hours and uses a vehicle to force their way into a store.”
Police said they got a report shortly after 4:30 a.m. that a vehicle had crashed into the Apple Store at 340 University Ave, and that witnesses saw several people running from the store.
Responding officers found a gray 2016 Kia Soul on the sidewalk with major damage. A 40-foot tall shattered glass window was still hanging in place, although the vehicle had broken a hole toward the bottom of the panel.
Officers set up a perimeter and found a black Hyundai Sonata parked in a nearby alley, Lane 20 West, near a city parking garage half a block from the Apple Store.
Police found stolen computers and phones in the car and strewn on the ground, Reifschneider said.
Officers arrested Shaquin K. Ferguson, 19, who gave no permanent address; Erica Jaynisha White, 18, of Oakland; and two juveniles, ages 16 and 17, also from Oakland.
Ferguson, who is on parole for weapons violations, and White were arrested on suspicion of burglary, vandalism and conspiracy and booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail. The youths were transported to Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. They were not identified because they are underage.
None of the suspects has been connected to other Apple Store thefts, police said.
Apple Store surveillance footage showed the burglars crawled into the store through the hole in the glass. All the burglars wore either hooded sweatshirts or pulled-down hats, concealing their features, Reifschneider said.
Apple spokesman Nick Leahy said Apple doesn’t comment on security matters. The store, with windows boarded up, remained closed on Sunday, but Leahy said it would reopen on Monday.
Reifschneider said police are searching for four to six more suspects and still don’t know the value of the items stolen or damaged.
Thieves hit the same Apple Store several times in the past six months, he said, and also burglarized the nearby Apple Store at Stanford Shopping Center. Those thefts didn’t involve crashing a vehicle to gain entry, however; they were similar to robberies targeting Apple stores in San Francisco, Berkeley, Burlingame, Corte Madera and Los Gatos. In all those thefts, fast-moving culprits wearing hooded sweatshirts rushed into the store, grabbed devices, then ran out.
The Palo Alto store has metal posts along the sidewalk as a barrier to street traffic. But the thieves apparently drove onto the sidewalk near adjacent businesses, then turned into the Apple’s glass window.
Police have not issued a description of the burglars. Anyone with information about the burglary may call Palo Alto police dispatch at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips may be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
