Full Notification

Last Sunday evening around 9:00 p.m., a man who was taking a stroll on W. Juana Ave. in San Leandro was robbed of his cell phone. The suspect abruptly snatched the phone away from the victim's hand as he was walking. Next, the suspect brandished a handgun and further demanded the victim's wallet. When the victim stated he did not have a wallet, the suspect fled the area. 

A description of the suspect was provided to police as they arrived on scene. During the investigation, San Leandro Police officers learned of another robbery that just occurred in a neighboring jurisdiction. The description of that suspect matched the suspect in our case. In addition, the suspect was seen fleeing the other robbery in a specifically described vehicle. 

The victim was able to log onto his phone's GPS and detected its location in a neighborhood in East Oakland. San Leandro Police officers responded to that location in Oakland to search for the suspect vehicle and or the victim's phone. 

Upon searching, officers located the suspect's vehicle parked at a residence. A short time later, the suspect, 27 yr-old Akram Abdullah appeared and was detained by officers. A "lost" beacon was sounded on the victim's phone which was then located inside of the suspect's vehicle. In addition, a replica firearm was located and several other stolen items were recovered from other robberies that occurred in neighboring communities.   

"The use of technology greatly assisted our officers in quickly determining the general location of the stolen phone," said San Leandro Police Lt. Isaac Benabou. "From there, great police work led officers to actually finding the suspect and recovering many victims' stolen items."

The suspect has been charged by the Alameda County District Attorney for armed robbery and possession of stolen property. Abdullah is currently being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.