$12,000 worth of items stolen from punk band’s tour van in Oakland

Members of a Venezuelan punk band told SFGATE that thieves smashed the windows of their tour van in downtown Oakland on Monday afternoon and took $12,000 worth of items including computers, music equipment, passports, green cards, social security cards and $1,000 in cash,.

Zeta bandmember Antonio Pereira said the van was parked near 17th Street while he, four other bandmembers and some friends grabbed lunch at the Japanese fried chicken restaurant Aburaya. One person stayed back to watch the van, Pereira, who plays electric bass for Zeta, said.

After lunch, they all went to grab coffee nearby at Timeless Coffee, and the person who was watching the van joined them.

“It must have been a span of 10 or 15 minutes that we left the van alone,” Pereira said. “They took three backpacks, the cash we had on us that we stowed away for emergencies, our computers. I’m a graphic designer when I’m back home, so mostly losing my hard drive was the hardest part. A passport…which for Venezuelans is a huge loss as it’s very complicated to get a passport.”

Zeta, a 20-year-old musical group with Venezualan and American members that a sound that has been described as “Psychedelic Caribbean,” has been on tour in the U.S. for five weeks and played at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill on Saturday. Pereira said they were staying in Oakland with friends who are in Hawak, a local band that also played at the S.F. club on Saturday.  

“The band is vegan and the last time we were here, our friends brought us some vegan fried chicken from the restaurant and it was great, so we decided to go drive over there with the van,” Pereira said. “It’s not that we had our guard down … where we parked was very close to where we went to eat.”

Pereira said that when they performed at Bottom of the Hill, they were warned to leave nothing in their car while they played. 

“We suspect maybe people saw us get out of the van,” he said. “It’s hard to make heads or tails of it. There were a lot of things that are really valuable there that they got, but they didn’t get any of our instruments.”

Despite the loss, Pereira said they were lucky and the band will be able to re-purchase the stolen items thanks to a GoFundMe that has raised more than $13,000.

“We’re all very hard working people, and we’ve prided ourselves in being self sufficient,” said Pereira. “In one day, we reached what we asked for. We are floored. We’re still processing it … just the kindness and love that was given to us.” 

Despite the robbery, Pereira said the band will return to the Bay Area.

“We will not let this taint what we feel because honestly you all have a special thing going on,” he said. “The city has such a personality. We honestly love it so it really broke our hearts. We will be back for sure but next time we’ll be more careful.”

Band members filed a police report and the Oakland Police Department confirmed that an auto burglary was reported to the department after 3 p.m. on April 4. The department said details of the case can’t be shared as it has yet to be assigned an investigator.

Members of a Venezuelan punk band told SFGATE that thieves smashed the windows of their tour van in downtown Oakland on Monday afternoon and took $12,000 worth of items including computers, music equipment, passports, green cards, social security cards and $1,000 in cash,.Zeta bandmember Antonio Pereira said the van was parked near 17th Street while he, four other bandmembers and some friends grabbed lunch at the Japanese fried chicken restaurant Aburaya. One person stayed back to watch the van, Pereira, who plays electric bass for Zeta, said. After lunch, they all went to grab coffee nearby at Timeless Coffee, and the person who was watching the van joined them. “It must have been a span of 10 or 15 minutes that we left the van alone,” Pereira said. “They took three backpacks, the cash we had on us that we stowed away for emergencies, our computers. I’m a graphic designer when I’m back home, so mostly losing my hard drive was the hardest part. A passport…which for Venezuelans is a huge loss as it’s very complicated to get a passport.” The band Zeta dates back to 2002 when it was formed in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.Gabe Lugo Zeta, a 20-year-old musical group with Venezualan and American members that a sound that has been described as “Psychedelic Caribbean,” has been on tour in the U.S. for five weeks and played at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill on Saturday. Pereira said they were staying in Oakland with friends who are in Hawak, a local band that also played at the S.F. club on Saturday.   “The band is vegan and the last time we were here, our friends brought us some vegan fried chicken from the restaurant and it was great, so we decided to go drive over there with the van,” Pereira said. “It’s not that we had our guard down … where we parked was very close to where we went to eat.” Pereira said that when they performed at Bottom of the Hill, they were warned to leave nothing in their car while they played.  “We suspect maybe people saw us get out of the van,” he said. “It’s hard to make heads or tails of it. There were a lot of things that are really valuable there that they got, but they didn’t get any of our instruments.” The Zeta tour van was robbed in Oakland on April 4, 2022.Courtesy Zeta Despite the loss, Pereira said they were lucky and the band will be able to re-purchase the stolen items thanks to a GoFundMe that has raised more than $13,000. “We’re all very hard working people, and we’ve prided ourselves in being self sufficient,” said Pereira. “In one day, we reached what we asked for. We are floored. We’re still processing it … just the kindness and love that was given to us.”  Despite the robbery, Pereira said the band will return to the Bay Area. “We will not let this taint what we feel because honestly you all have a special thing going on,” he said. “The city has such a personality. We honestly love it so it really broke our hearts. We will be back for sure but next time we’ll be more careful.” Band members filed a police report and the Oakland Police Department confirmed that an auto burglary was reported to the department after 3 p.m. on April 4. The department said details of the case can’t be shared as it has yet to be assigned an investigator.