Three people are in custody after an armed robbery on Monday near 90th Avenue and Birch Street in East Oakland, with police crediting a helicopter assist for helping officers quickly track down the suspects. Oakland Police Department Crime Reduction Team officers took all three into custody and recovered a firearm along with stolen property from the scene.
According to the Oakland Police Dept., the arrests followed an armed robbery that occurred on Monday near the intersection. Officers received assistance from an East Bay Regional Park District helicopter as they moved to locate and detain the suspects. The aircraft is part of EBRPD’s Air Support Unit, which flies two Eurocopter AS350 AStar helicopters — call signs Eagle 6 and Eagle 7 — out of Hayward Executive Airport and regularly acts as a regional force multiplier for local departments like OPD during tactical pursuits and searches, according to Vertical Magazine.
OPD Crime Reduction Team officers arrested three individuals following an armed robbery on Aug. 17 near 90th Ave. & Birch St.With assistance from the EBRPD helicopter, officers took all three into custody and recovered a firearm and stolen property.https://t.co/rwkEF5jxClpic.twitter.com/qqdxpyQiUo
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) August 21, 2026
A Familiar Tactic in a Targeted Corridor
The intersection sits within East Oakland’s Castlemont corridor, part of OPD’s Area 6, an area that hosts community gatherings like the annual East Oakland Futures Fest while also remaining a primary focal point for targeted crime suppression efforts, per the Twin Oaks Insider. OPD’s Crime Reduction Teams are specialized field units assigned to geographic divisions and tasked with targeted surveillance, decoy operations, and proactive violence-suppression efforts against open-air drug markets and violent street crime, per background from the City of Oakland…