LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Home invasion arrests made the day after Lafayette public safety meeting


Attendees at the Dec. 4 Public Safety Committee special meeting in Lafayette. Photo Jeff Heyman, city of Lafayette

To help allay the concerns and fears of Lafayette residents after an unusual spike in crime in the city this fall, Lafayette council members Cam Burks and Steven Bliss called a special meeting of the city public safety committee Dec. 4 at the Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center. A standing room crowd of more than 100 heard Police Chief Ben Alldritt explain what the city is doing to protect residents after two recent home invasion robberies and an overall increase in residential robberies since October.

"Keeping our public safe is our No. 1 priority," Burks said.

A home-invasion robbery took place Oct. 31 on Martino Road, and a similar home invasion occurred Nov. 27 on Crestwood Drive. Three robbers entered each home and assaulted residents in addition to stealing valuables. The chief noted that from January until October, five robberies occurred in Lafayette. But since October, there have been 10 more.

"You should be able to leave your doors unlocked," Alldritt said. "But there is an element in this world that does not abide by our moral rules of conduct."

The chief offered suggestions on keeping homes safe, from the basic like keeping doors and gates locked, closing garage doors and turning lights on, to the more elaborate like installing cameras and putting in an alarm system. Audience members talked about coordinating neighborhood camera networks and creating rosters of neighborhood members, but residents also wanted to know what the police are doing since the crime uptick, and whether the crime increase could be attributed to Proposition 47, which reduced many low-level crimes, such as theft, from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Alldritt had no comment on whether the proposition had any effect on the local crime increase. "Laws change," he said. "It is our job to enforce the laws that officials put on our books." The chief assured citizens that the city has added an extra officer on duty during the day, as has the county sheriff's office, through which Lafayette contracts for its police service. At night, the sheriff's office has added two supplemental officers to patrol the city, Alldritt said.

Many attendees wanted an update on the two home invasions, but Alldritt said that he could not comment, as the two incidents were under active investigation. The following day, the Lafayette Police Department announced the arrest of two suspects from Fairfield and charged them with residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, vehicle theft and conspiracy. On Dec. 6, two additional suspects were arrested; one more from Fairfield and one from Vallejo.

"The arrest of these home invasion robbery suspects is the result of good police work," Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston said in a statement. "It was a combination of following up on leads, a critical tip from a citizen who reported something suspicious, and teamwork among the law enforcement agencies involved."

At the end of the Dec. 4 meeting, Bliss said that the crime prevention commission will take the suggestions made by residents to the city council and possibly act on some of them in the coming months.