Crime & Safety

Pleasanton Police Arrest Three after Freeway Pursuit

Oakland men had allegedly stolen mail, then hit the freeway before they were caught.

Pleasanton Police arrested three Oakland men Thursday after they allegedly stole mail out of a mailbox as the homeowner looked on, and then fled on the freeway.

When police finally caught up with Marcellus Lewis, 38; Kenyatta Island, 35, and Kent Battle, 27, they allegedly found not only checks stolen from today's victim, but hundreds of other checks from Pleasanton and throughout the Bay Area, according to a Pleasanton Police Department press release.

They also found account information, counterfeit travelers checks and other items.

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Around 9 a.m., a woman on Independence Drive called police to report that she'd seen the men steal mail from her curbside mailbox. An officer who happened to be in the area spotted the men in their black Cadillac Escalade speeding away. According to the press release, he radioed other officers and said the men were driving south on Sunol Blvd.

Officers spotted the SUV headed north on Interstate 680 and ultimately stopped the men on westbound Interstate 580 — the incident caused a brief shutdown of the freeway there, near Foothill Road.

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The driver went normal freeway speeds, but did not stop when officers tried to pull them over. No one was injured during the pursuit.

All westbound lanes were shut down and police arrested the three at gunpoint, according to an article in the Contra Costa Times.

The men were arrested on charges of mail theft, possession of stolen property and obstruction of justice for giving false identities.


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