By Harry Harris
Inside Bay Area
Jason Brooks told people he wanted to be an Oakland police officer.
His firsthand look at how police work probably ended those aspirations.
Brooks, 24, an unemployed U.S. Army veteran has been charged with 18 armed robberies of East Bay businesses, including at least seven in Oakland, police said Friday. He has admitted involvement in the robberies, as have two suspected accomplices who have also been charged in some of the heists, police said.
Oakland Sgt. Ron Lighten, who interviewed Brooks with Sgt. Drennon Lindsey, said Brooks admitted committing the robberies because he needed money for food and rent.
“He was very amenable, cooperative and polite,” Lighten said. He said he had no intention of hurting anyone and went into some of the businesses with an empty gun.
Lighten said Brooks told him he got out of the Army in 2005 and had submitted an application recently to become an Oakland police officer although he had no test date.
Lighten remembered talking previously with Brooks at the police department about his wanting to become an officer. “He expressed interest and he claims he knew some officers,” Lighten said.
“He actually said he still wants to be a police officer.”
Police said Brooks’ robbery spree began in May and spanned the East Bay, including Berkeley, Oakland, Hercules, San Pablo, El Cerrito, Albany, Vallejo, San Leandro, Hayward and Union City.
Many of his targets were Radio Shack stores, but gas stations,
hardware, juice and cell phone stores and check cashing businesses were also hit, police said.
He was usually attired with a surgical mask and black hooded sweatshirt, Lighten said.
Brooks and the two accomplices were arrested Sunday after a Radio Shack store at 2500 Shattuck Ave., in Berkeley was robbed about 5:11 p.m. A man witnesses said was Brooks robbed the store at gunpoint and fled in a waiting Volkswagen Jetta.
Berkeley Officers Scott O’Donnell and David Bartalini spotted the car and stopped it at 59th Street and Shattuck Avenue in Oakland. Besides Brooks, also arrested in the car were Frederic Tillman, 21, of Oakland, and Tiffany Raab, 23, of Richmond, who owned the car. Cash believed taken in the robbery was recovered as was a gun and surgical mask.
Tillman and Raab admitted to the Sunday robbery and three other Berkeley Radio Shack holdups, police said.
Copyright 2007 Inside Bay Area