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Dropped cellphone leads to felony charges against four in $54,000 Union City dispensary burglary, but cops say 13 were involved

Cellphone led to discovery of Instagram accounts

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UNION CITY — Authorities have arrested four suspects on charges of burglarizing a cannabis dispensary in Union City last January, but say there are still nine other suspects who have yet to face the music.

Last month, Alameda County prosecutors charged three men and a woman with breaking into the Lemonnade Dispensary in Union City last January and stealing $54,000 worth of cannabis products. The charges include commercial burglary and organized retail theft in concert, court records show.

The four were identified because one suspect — the son of a local tow truck company owner — dropped his cellphone at the scene, which police later used to identify the Instagram accounts of other involved parties. Shortly after the burglary, one of the other suspects posted packaged cannabis that appeared similar to some of the stolen items, police said.

The 13 suspects used a crowbar to pry open a door to the dispensary and ran inside, clearing out whatever they could within a few minutes, before running to getaway cars. There were six other dispensary burglaries in Union City around the same time, and some of the suspects are also under investigation for similar burglaries in Contra Costa County, authorities said.