Police Log: Robbery, Pistol Whipping at Ferry

A dozen young men were robbed and several of them pistol whipped in an early morning attack Aug. 18 at the Alameda Point Ferry Terminal, an Alameda Police Department spokesman said.

The victims — all but one of them Alameda residents — had left a party and gathered after midnight in the terminal's parking lot at 3000 Main St. when they were confronted by men from another group also gathered there, according to APD Lt. Ted Horlbeck.

One of the attackers first asked for a cigarette, then ordered the victims at gunpoint to lie on the ground, Horlbeck said. Three to five attackers robbed the group and struck several of the victims with handguns, he said. Four of the victims were later treated at a hospital for their injuries and then released, he said.

The attackers fired several shots as they fled after the robbery, but no one was struck by bullets, Horlbeck said.

One suspect, Steven Pham of Oakland, was arrested when police officers spotted a vehicle nearby that matched a description provided by the victims, Horlbeck said. A handgun was recovered at the time of the arrest, he said.

The victims included eight Alameda men, age 18; an Alameda man, 19; an Alameda man, 29; a Berkeley man, 19; and a juvenile, Horlbeck said.

There was no indication of drug sales or use involved in the incident, which was reported at 1:35 a.m., he said.

Horlbeck said investigation of the incident, which is expected to be lengthy because of the number of victims, is continuing.

Shopping Basket Attack

An Aug. 17 shoplifting incident at CVS Pharmacy, 885 Island Dr., turned into a robbery when the thief swung a handheld shopping basket at a store employee who tried to stop him, Horlbeck said.

The thief loaded up two shopping baskets with about 60 toothbrushes and many tubes of toothpaste, then left the store without paying, he said. Two women employees followed the shoplifter outside, and when one employee tried to stop the thief just outside the entrance, he fended her off with a basket, Horlbeck said.

The thief, described as a man in his 30s, escaped in a blue car, Horlbeck said.

Mail Theft

Someone burglarized a parked U.S. Postal Service vehicle while the mail carrier was delivering letters on foot Aug. 17, Horlbeck said.

He said the burglar broke a window and took letters and packages from the vehicle about 3:30 p.m. The vehicle was parked in the 1500 block of Alameda Avenue.

Horlbeck said Postal Service investigators were able to notify most or all of the victims whose mail was stolen.

Warrant Arrest

Christian S. Canal, 36, of Alameda was arrested on a felony warrant during a "consenual stop" on Aug. 17 and turned over to East Bay Regional Park District law enforcement officers, Horlbeck said. Canal was booked into Santa Rita County Jail.

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