Oakland police announce arrests in recent violent incidents

OAKLAND, Calif. ( KRON ) — Law enforcement officials gave an update on crime trends in Oakland at police headquarters on Friday. The Oakland Police Department announced several significant arrests in recent violent incidents.

After three months on the job, Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell said the town still has a long way to go toward making the streets safer, but that recent numbers show progress.

“We are seeing a reduction in total crime across Oakland,” said Chief Mitchell. “But it’s important to understand that when you look at our violent crime, it is decreasing, and we know these numbers are very accurate.”

Deputy Chief Fred Shavies highlighted four deadly shooting investigations from May, July and August that have netted arrests, including the fatal shooting of Maria Ramos. Earlier this month, the 33-year-old mother was gunned down on Hilton Street while visiting family.

Shavies said two teenagers and a man were taken into custody in connection to the shooting .

“These are just a few incidents which members of the Oakland Police Department at every level, from patrol, to ceasefire, to special resources, to investigations have been working together, along with our outside partners to bring some resolution to some of the violence that we’ve seen in our city,” Shavies said.

In the past three weeks, Assistant Chief James Beere said West Oakland has seen an uptick in violent crime. Police are dedicating more resources to the vicinity, which has resulted in multiple arrests and the recovery of numerous guns.

“It should be noted that these firearms were typically equipped with high-capacity magazines, auto sear triggers and multi-burst triggers — essentially making them machine guns,” Beere said.

Police say they have also established a command center near the Westlake Christian Terrace Community. Since the end of June, 25 robberies and assaults have been reported in the area.

Most of the victims were Asian and elderly.

Beere said three groups of criminals have been involved and that seven teenagers and one adult have been arrested.

“When violent crime does happen in our city, we are taking it seriously, and we are putting the resources that we have out there to address this crime and try to prevent the crime moving forward,” said Chief Mitchell.

Chief Mitchell says the department is also working to improve response times to crime.

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