Arrests made after SUV from Rocklin gun store robbery found in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A smash and grab at gun stores in Folsom and Rocklin took place early Wednesday morning. Then hours later, the car used during those break-ins was found by authorities in Oakland. Investigators are now wondering whether the theft is related to a series of gun shop burglaries in Northern California this year.

The story begins with surveillance camera video from a Rocklin gun store. At about 4:30 a.m., thieves slammed an SUV into the doors and climbed inside. Rocklin police say they didn't get much.

"It was an AK-47 that was taken and it was being worked on on the counter," said Rocklin Police Sgt. Trent Jewel.

Gun store owner Walter Ford added, "We lock our guns up at night. We're responsible store owners. So all they got was one rifle that was on the gunsmith's workbench that I'm not sure was functional."

Rocklin gun store surveillance video:

From surveillance video police knew they were looking for a Honda SUV with a license number of 6VCB742, and they found it in East Oakland near 68th and MacArthur.

A neighbor named Catherine, who didn't want her face shown, says she saw ATF agents and Oakland police rush to the scene Wednesday morning.

"They stopped the traffic and they just appeared," she said. "The bus stopped coming, they turned people around in the opposite direction."

Evidence technicians brushed the SUV for fingerprints then hauled it away. A couple of arrests were made.

In a joint operation, Oakland police and federal agents are investigating whether the Rocklin robbery is connected with one Wednesday morning in Folsom that netted two dozen handguns. Or burglaries at a half dozen gun shops in Northern California that have been hit over the past few months like one in El Cerrito on March 5 where thieves jumped a fence and broke a window or another on March 7 in Petaluma. Altogether, 240 guns were stolen in those heists.

Police won't say much about the investigation except they and the feds are working together.

"This is another situation where the Oakland Police Department partners in collaboration with another department or agency," said Oakland Police Officer Marco Marquez.