Man Mugged By 4 Juveniles On BART Train

DUBLIN, CA – A male passenger Wednesday night on a Dublin-bound BART train was punched and robbed of his cell phone by four juveniles, according to authorities.

The man was alone when the incident occurred at about 11:14 p.m., and the suspects fled on foot from the East Dublin/Pleasanton station, BART spokesperson Alicia Trost said today.

The victim was treated at the scene.

BART officials this week announced that the system completed a $1.42 million installation of security cameras in all of its train cars.

Trost said the onboard video cameras did, in fact, capture the incident. Detectives pulled the surveillance footage, and the investigation is underway.

No footage or photo stills of the suspects or the incident were released, however, Trost said, adding that the case "is an active and ongoing investigation and the footage is evidence."

The newly installed cameras and digital recording devices are intended to provide high-quality images from onboard BART trains and each car has four cameras on board, according to the agency.

"These cameras will be an effective tool for solving crimes that occur on the BART system by helping investigators to identify suspects. The devices will also serve as a deterrent to prevent some crimes from ever occurring in the first place," BART police Chief Carlos Rojas said.

The transit agency said its original in-train camera deployment included a mix of real and decoy cameras that were installed in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a deterrent against vandalism.

Now that every car is outfitted with a working camera, BART officials said any rider who becomes the victim of a crime should take note of the number of the car in which they were riding. That number is posted above the end doors of each car and having that number will make it easier for investigators to track down the video associated with any report of criminal activity.

BART's use of decoys was discovered after 19-year-old Carlos Misael Funez-Romero of Antioch was shot and killed on a San Francisco-bound train as it pulled into the West Oakland station at about 7:45 p.m. on Jan.
9, 2016. The suspect, who is still at large in the unsolved case, then fled from the station into the neighborhood.

In the course of the investigation, police released surveillance photos of the suspect leaving the West Oakland station but didn't release photos from inside the train car.

BART officials said the new cameras bolster their existing security infrastructure network, which includes cameras on platforms, inside and outside stations and on police officers, themselves.

RELATED: Security Cameras Now Installed In All BART Train Cars

ALSO SEE: East Bay Man Sentenced To 116 Years In Prison For Sexual Assault Of Stepdaughter

--BayCity News contributed to this report/File image