Oakland business owner speaks out, concerned with break-ins

An Oakland business owner is speaking out after his store was broken into over the weekend.

Ali Albasiery is dealing with the aftermath of when someone rammed a car into the rolled-up door of 4M Foods.

“So they come in, and they ram the car to the roll-up door to the front of the business,” he said. “They tear up the front, they go inside, and they take things inside that are not even worth the damage they caused.”

He said the damage would be upwards of $35,000, which is more than what the suspects took from the establishment.

“They took cigarettes, they took the cash register, they took some candy bars, they took all kinds of stuff, medicines,” Albasiery said.

Police came to the scene, took a report, and are currently investigating, according to officials.

Albasiery, the president of the Small Bay Area Merchant Chamber of Commerce, said other stores he runs have also been impacted.

Oakland City Council is looking to make cuts to its budget, and Albasiery said he’s concerned about the impact on police and fire units.

“We pay the taxes. We pay every single tax the city asks us for, as well as the state and the federal, but we are not getting the service,” he said. “I saw two businesses, one on the high street and international, the other on Foothill Blvd. Someone rammed their cars, stole their goods, broke their doors,”

Councilmember Noel Gallo saw the aftermath after two other break-ins this weekend and said not enough is being done to address it.

“Public safety is the number one priority that we need to invest in,” Gallo said.