Thief who swiped Oakland mayor’s $75K car was ‘squatting’ in City Hall for four days: source

The bandit who stole the mayor of Oakland’s $75,000 SUV had been “squatting” inside City Hall before swiping the keys from her office, the California Post can reveal.

Barbara Lee’s black Ford Expedition was reported missing on Tuesday but was recovered just “hours later” in nearby Vallejo, California, thanks to a tracker attached to it.

A source told the Post the thief had been living inside the complex since Friday and managed to stay undetected despite the highly paid ABC Security Services being on site.

The suspect was holed out on the 11th floor of the deserted offices over the Presidents Day weekend, according to the insider.

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They are understood to have “jimmied” the door to Lee’s office on Monday and made off with the city-owned car using an unsecured parking lot entrance.

Police said the alleged thief had been identified through security footage and an arrest was made on Thursday.

Photos obtained by the Post on Thursday show the office block appearing completely deserted — as multiple staff still work remotely.

Small scratch marks could be seen around the lock to Lee’s office and a sign on the door asked visitors to “please check in at the front desk.”

A nearby elevator had an out of order sign emblazoned across it and no workers could be across the site in the pictures obtained by the Post.

Meanwhile the mayor’s reserved parking spot in a side alley on the complex sat empty. It is unclear where her Ford Expedition is currently being held.

Lee said on Wednesday: “No one in Oakland should have to worry about their car being stolen, whether they’re a resident, a city worker, or the Mayor. Public safety is a priority across our entire city.”

ABC Security Services has a $35.3 million contract with the city to patrol government buildings and had their contract renewed in December. It is unclear why they did not spot the thief.

This was despite concerns about ties to a federal corruption probe in involving former Mayor Sheng Thao, and a lack of competitive bidding. ABC Security Services has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Lee’s SUV, which was purchased in 2023 under former mayor Sheng Thao, has been targeted by thieves before.

Last year it was broken into while it sat in a garage behind City Hall and the damage took weeks to repair, City Council President Kevin Jenkins previously said.

He told the San Francisco Chronicle: “We have to tighten up security around City Hall. A few council members have come to me with complaints about their sense of security in and around City Hall.”

Other city staffers have reportedly complained about vehicle tampering and thefts around the building in downtown Oakland.

Thao sparked fury when she bought the expensive work car, while she also got $650 per month as an allowance for a personal vehicle.

The city has among the highest rates of auto thefts in the country, per FBI data, and just 490 working cops in the city of 440,000 — well short of a suggested 877 officers.

Sam Singer, a spokesman for the Oakland Police Officers Association, said it can take up to three days to respond to auto thefts due to the huge shortfall.

He said: “If an Oakland resident reports a stolen car or home burglary, it can take up to three days for OPD officers to respond because of the shortage of officers.

“The mayor and city leadership is practically starving the police department of help. A regular resident can’t get or even dream of that level of service.”

Lee declined to comment further when approached by the Post. ABC Security Services also refused to comment.