HAYWARD — Police here have arrested a man for allegedly being one of nine people who burglarized two stores within minutes, causing more than $35,000 in loss and damages.
Leo Smith IV, 30, was charged with second-degree burglary for allegedly burglarizing a liquor store and a 7-Eleven located within 100 feet of each other on Jan. 12. Police say nine people in three cars participated in the burglary, which involved the storefronts being rammed in and looted.
One of the burglars threatened to shoot a clerk during the 7-Eleven incident, authorities said. The stores are located at the intersection of Mission Boulevard and Sycamore Avenue.
Police identified Smith as the driver of a Dodge Charger involved in both crimes. Authorities used surveillance footage, pings from his cellphone and compared still photos from the surveillance footage to rap music videos posted to Smith’s YouTube account, court records show.
He was arrested on May 27, two weeks after police responded to a report that he struck a relative during a dispute in Oakland. He has not been charged in the alleged assault.
Smith was a suspect in a similar burglary in 2018 that involved several men who ran into an Apple store in Emeryville, grabbed merchandise and fled. He was sentenced to five years and eight months, but served roughly half of that with good behavior, court records show.
After an arrest in 2024, Smith was also charged with hiding 33 bindles of cocaine “under his genitals,” in a jail smuggling incident, according to court records.
Smith has pleaded not guilty and his preliminary hearing has been set for Friday, court records show. Bail has been set at $50,000.