Burglars Pay Lamorinda A Visit Early Sunday – Cars Rifled, Stolen; Chase Ensues

A quiet Sunday morning in Moraga and Orinda was blown out of the water when bleary-eyed residents looked out their windows to see strangers rifling through their cars – or running through their home – and dialed up police.

Moraga residents spotted a masked man dressed in black rifling through a car on Deerfield Drive at about 6:20 a.m. and alerted police. Moraga PD officers filtered into the area and spotted a Lexus on Tharp, attempting to stop the car and initiating a pursuit when the driver sped away.

The fleeing vehicle sped through Canyon and eventually made it to Alameda County as additional calls began to come in from other residents whose cars had also been burglarized. This site’s Flash Alert system was flooded with text messages from concerned Flashers who had heard or witnessed a part of the pursuit and were in search of information.

Minutes later, additional calls began to come in regarding a possible residential burglary on Via Floreado in Orinda and a car burglary in Lafayette, believed connected to the car Moraga police had chased out of town.

An Orinda caller reported hearing someone run through their home before 7 a.m., eventually determining that a purse had been taken along with two of the household’s cars, a Jeep Wrangler and an Audi Q7.

Officers responding to that call located two more stolen vehicles in the area, the thieves apparently stealing cars and dumping them as needed.

Subsequent information provided by Moraga police confirm the occurrence, adding that officers located the subjects entering a garage on Larch and chased them as they sped away in a grey Lexus (pictured) and drove out of the area at a high rate of speed. Police pursued the vehicle on Canyon Road, but officers discontinued the pursuit out of concern for public safety.

Further investigation has determined that the thieves drove a stolen Lexus into Town and entered at least 15 different unlocked vehicles throughout the Rimer/Camino Pablo/Larch neighborhoods. Unfortunately, according to police, some of those vehicles had garage door remote controls inside, allowing the suspects access to garages, through which they were able to enter residences. Police are currently investigating all of the incidents and coordinating with other jurisdictions where these individuals also committed crimes.

Police are asking residents of targeted neighborhoods to check security cameras between 6:00a – 6:30am and search for anyone checking car door handles or garage doors or of a grey Lexus cruising the area. Anyone with footage is asked to contact Police Dispatch at 925-284-5010.