Three armed men robbed an Oakland pizzeria Tuesday night, and police are investigating whether it may be the latest in a string of robberies by the same criminals.

The men wore hooded sweatshirts and ski masks and held up employees at Skyline Pizza in the 4400 block of Keller Avenue just after 9 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

There were two employees in the restaurant at the time — a 51-year-old pizza maker and a 31-year-old cashier, both women.

The thieves took hundreds of dollars from the register and stole less than $50 and a cell phone from the pizza maker, police said.

Nobody was hurt.

More than a half-dozen other restaurants have been robbed at gunpoint in the past few weeks, often by a group of three armed men in hooded sweatshirts and ski masks.

"Are there similarities? Obviously. But it's way too early to say for sure whether or not they're connected," said police spokesman Officer Jeff Thomason.

The full police report was not available Wednesday, but Thomason said he believed no patrons were in the restaurant, meaning the robbery was not a "takeover-style robbery" as earlier reports claimed.

As of Wednesday morning, police had not made arrests in connection with the robbery.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $30,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.

Call police at 510-238-3326 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211.


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