A volunteer-run garden in Oakland has been stolen for the fourth time in two years, with the loss of eight “priceless” bonsai trees, as the city’s mayor and district attorney both face recalls over crime.
Thieves broke through the wall of the Bonsai Garden in Lake Merritt, California, twice on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, making off with eight bonsai trees worth a total of about $20,000.
“Although you can put a dollar amount on these trees, technically they are priceless because you will never find another tree like this,” Suzanne Muller, the garden’s assistant director, told the San Francisco Chronicle .
Despite wooden walls, metal fences and a surveillance camera, the thieves managed to enter the garden and steal the trees, including a hino cypress that was about 100 years old.
The theft of the bonsai trees is contributing to the city’s rising crime rate, which saw 15,000 stolen vehicles documented last year and criminals storming gas stations twelve or more times a day.
Security camera footage shows thieves breaking into the Bonsai Garden in Lake Merritt, California, on Wednesday evening
The thieves returned early Thursday morning and made off with eight bonsai trees worth a total of about $20,000.
Despite wooden walls, metal fences and a surveillance camera, the thieves managed to enter the garden and steal the trees, including a hino cypress that was about 100 years old.
CCTV footage shows that thieves entered the garden around 9:20 PM on Wednesday and again after 4:00 AM on Thursday.
Among the eight bonsai trees are small, hand-sized trees that the thieves were able to smuggle through the fence, said garden curator Gary Tom. KTVU.
They tried to get a ninth tree, a 60-pound redwood, but Muller said it was too big to fit through the hole in the wall.
Tom believed the stolen trees were ‘most likely’ targeted, particularly the two Japanese apricot trees that were in bloom and in their ten-day flowering period of the year.
‘There was a very rare hinoki cypress with a very large trunk. The tree was only about 18 inches high, but had a circumference of about eight inches,” Tom added.
“It’s not so much about the cost, but about the fact that they are not replaceable,” says Gordon Deeg, director of Bonsai Garden.
Among the eight bonsai trees are small trees about the size of a hand that the thieves were able to smuggle through the fence, the garden’s curator Gary Tom told KTVU.
Tom believed the stolen trees were ‘most likely’ targeted, particularly the two Japanese apricot trees that were in flower and in their ten-day flowering period of the year.
‘There was a very rare hinoki cypress with a very large trunk. The tree was only about 18 inches high, but had a circumference of about eight inches,” Tom added.
It is the fourth theft incident in the garden in the past two years, and this time the highest number of trees were stolen.
The Bonsai Garden at Lake Merrit is home to some historic trees that are more than 1,000 years old.
Growing bonsai trees and keeping them small requires a lot of effort, including careful pruning, proper watering and control over the sunlight they receive.
Without proper cultivation and care, bonsai trees could grow to their natural, full size, losing the value and beauty that comes from their miniature form.
Many of the trees in the Lake Merrit bonsai garden were donated by the plant community, and one was a gift from Japan to the U.S. during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.
“It’s not like you can go and buy a replacement tree,” Muller said. “It’s just incredibly devastating to the bonsai community.”
‘Our trees are very, very old and beautiful. They are a work of living art. If things like this happen all the time, it will destroy the garden, it will destroy the community,” Muller added.
It is the fourth theft incident in the garden in the past two years, and this time the highest number of trees were stolen
The Bonsai Garden at Lake Merrit is home to some historic trees that are more than 1,000 years old
The tree theft serves as the latest evidence of the city’s fight against rampant crime under the leadership of progressive Mayor Sheng Tao and District Attorney Pamela Price.
The two outspoken progressives have both said police accountability and racial equity are priorities, but locals have had enough and have begged them to make the Bay Area city safer.
One in 30 Oakland residents had their car stolen last year, while 15,000 vehicles were stolen – a 45 percent increase in just one year.
However, fewer than five percent of car theft cases result in an actual arrest as California’s understaffed and underfunded police department deals with the 21 percent spike in violent crimes.
The epicenter of this wave is in Uptown and North Oakland, where there was a shocking 69 percent spike in car thefts, according to police and state data.
In October, Price even had her work laptop stolen during a mid-day car burglary outside a family law center.
This comes as the campaign to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, also known as Save Alameda for Everyone (SAFE), intensifies. The recall was initiated in 2023.
The tree theft serves as the latest evidence of the city’s fight against rampant crime under the leadership of progressive Mayor Sheng Tao (pictured) and District Attorney Pamela Price, both of whom face recalls.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price (pictured) is facing a recall amid a surge in violent crimes in the city
Earlier this month, a group led by retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte sent an official letter of intent to begin Thao’s recall process.
Organizers accused Thao of creating a public safety crisis by “systematically dismantling” OPD, firing former Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong and failing to appoint a successor.
“Lives have been lost, property destroyed, businesses closed, and fear and collective trauma are a daily occurrence for Oaklanders,” the opponents wrote in an official message.
Thao’s chief of staff, Leigh Hanson, said in a statement that the recall campaign is “led by losers.”
“I am confident that if Mayor Thao had lost the election, she would have gracefully conceded and found a legitimate job that contributed to the advancement of our community,” Hanson said.
“I have faith that Oaklanders are smarter than this, and will resist the urge to be distracted by a desperate bid for relevance.”