Berkeley crime log: Car crash goes after Senior Streak, confiscated swords, water rescue drill, stolen golf carts

This overview of latest crime in Berkeley is based on reports to the Berkeley Police unless otherwise noted. Share photos, movies and tips by emailing [email protected] or on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t assume someone else will alert us. We rely on readers to help us stay informed.

SNAPSHOT From June 2-8, there were reports of two robberies, fifteen burglaries, thirteen assaults or batteries, three weapon-involved calls and one sexual onslaught, according to CrimeMapping.com. There were also fourteen stolen vehicles, fifteen disturbances and twenty nine auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles reported. Two hook-up crimes and one weapons call, among other crimes, were reported on CrimeMapping to the University of California Police Department (UCPD). Arrested or charged individuals are presumed guiltless. Find the June 2-8 round-up below several more latest items.

Latest public safety news

BAG GRAB ON COLLEGE A local resident told Berkeleyside on Twitter about a “grab, run & chase” on Woolsey Street inbetween College and Benvenue avenues Thursday, June 16, at about ten p.m. The victim — who lives in the neighborhood — was “shaken but emerges OK,” said Peter Sussman, who was nearby after the crime took place. The man was on his way home from work when robbers struck; he clung to his bag, which held his computer, and chased after the bandits when the strap broke. There were two other robberies in Berkeley that day, according to CrimeMapping.com. Tune into Berkeleyside’s next crime blotter for details.

SENIOR STREAK AT BHS PRECEDES CAR CRASH INVOLVING STUDENTS Earlier this month, June 9, the annual “Senior Streak” tradition at Berkeley High took place just before a car crash involving students that sent one of them to the hospital.

According to an email from BHS Principal Sam Pasarow, “a Berkeley High student was driving on Bancroft and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The student lost control of the car, and it struck several parked cars on the eastern side of MLK Jr. Way. In one of the parked cars was another student, who was taken to the hospital with possible injuries. Berkeley Police Officers responded to the scene instantaneously and the Berkeley High School Health Center provided medical care for the student who was in the parked car at the time of the collisions.”

In an email to the school community, Pasarow said he wondered “whether the disruption caused by the Senior Streak and other year-end traditions may sometimes give rise to reckless behaviors. While exhibiting occasional bad judgment characterizes the teenage practice in general, I do wonder about the Senior Streak’s negative influence on school culture and the recklessness that ensued this afternoon.” He asked students to reminisce to keep safety in mind during graduation season, “and be aware of the potential serious consequences of unbridled revelry.”

(Berkeleyside very first posted the movie above, by local filmmaker Kim Aronson, on Facebook.)

REMINDER TO DELIVERY TRUCKS The Berkeley Police Department has put out a reminder to delivery truck drivers about which routes they can use. Trucks weighing more than 6,000 pounds must avoid certain streets. Berkeley’s primary east-west routes are Gilman Street and University Avenue. North-south routes are San Pablo and Shattuck avenues. “The City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Police Department would like to remind everyone, especially businesses and delivery companies, to obey with posted signs regarding delivery routes, weight thresholds and restricted roadways.” Read the total Nixle alert.

See BPD’s calls for service over the past six months in a warmth map. See the list of incidents. Source: City of Berkeley

The week in review: June 2-8

There was an arson call at Two:30 a.m. in the two thousand nine hundred block of College Avenue.

Two vehicles were stolen, at 6:03 a.m. in the one thousand three hundred block of Ashby Avenue, and at Two:45 p.m. in the two hundred block of Roble Road.

UCPD got a report at 8:52 a.m. about a suspicious circumstance regarding “inappropriate employee conduct concerning alcohol” at Koshland Hall. It’s under investigation.

Help improve the blotter: Send Berkeleyside neighborhood crime news.

There was a home burglary at Ten:30 a.m. in the one thousand eight hundred block of Sacramento Street.

Police responded to a large fight involving students at Area. Photo: Bill Newton

Someone reportedly brandished a weapon at 12:55 p.m. in the two thousand one hundred block of San Pablo Avenue.

UCPD got a report at about 1:45 p.m. about harm to a window at Bowles Hall that might have been caused with a BB gun May 30-31. It’s under investigation.

There was a fight around one p.m. on University Avenue near Field Charter School that drew a crowd of about one hundred students. Berkeleyside readers reported “commotion and intense police presence on university near San Pablo” and police “talking to folks @ area high school.” One student was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest. (This item very first appeared in an earlier blotter for timeliness.)

An Alameda County jury came back to recommend a sentence of death in the case against Darnell Williams Jr., who had already been found guilty of the killings in two thousand thirteen of a little lady at a sleepover and a man who was pleading for his life as he attempted to run away. Read more on Berkeleyside.

The crash at Ninth and Cedar. Photo: Kimberly Winkleman

Sometime prior to about Two:30 p.m., police responded to Ninth and Cedar streets in West Berkeley for a car crash. Sgt. Andrew Frankel, Berkeley Police spokesman, said the crash involved two vehicles but there were no injuries.

Three golf carts at Civic Center Park, rented for the Bay Area Book Festival, were stolen June Three, the night before the popular festival began. Four of them had been rented to help distribute items to forty different venues. Said Lisa Bullwinkel, who helped organize the event, “What a surprise on Saturday morning when they were gone. Evidently, my hired security guard was perplexed by a band of kids from Berkeley High who came off the campus around 9PM Friday and took off with two of the carts. One kid drove one into a concrete bollard, knocking off the front fender, before taking off.” Read more on Berkeleyside.

There was a disturbance at 11:30 p.m. in the seven hundred block of University Avenue.

Click the map to see the list of robberies and burglaries. (Click “show crime report” to see the list.) Source: CrimeMapping

There were two disturbance calls, at 1:21 a.m. in the eight hundred block of Bolivar Drive, and at 12:45 p.m. in the one thousand two hundred block of Monterey Avenue (2nd response call).

There was a felony onslaught or battery at Ten:40 a.m. in the one thousand five hundred block of Derby Street.

Two vehicles were stolen, at 1:50 p.m. in the two thousand block of Kittredge Street, and at 11:30 p.m. at Sacramento Street and Ashby Avenue.

UCPD confiscated a sword at People’s Park at about Four:40 p.m. and took it away for destruction. According to the log, twelve minutes later, a 42-year-old man at the park relinquished a violated sword for destruction.

There was a home burglary at five p.m. in the two thousand one hundred block of Stuart Street.

UCPD responded at 12:40 a.m. to three students trespassing at the Haas Clubhouse Pool.

Bruised urn. Photo: Michael McCutcheon

Reader Michael McCutcheon said the urn at Excellent Stoneface Park in Berkeley was bruised. He filed a vandalism report with BPD. (See Berkeleyside’s original post about this on Facebook.)

BART Police officers conducted a welfare check at 9:35 a.m. on a man who was causing a disturbance at the Ashby station: “Once the officers contacted the masculine he became combative during the contact resulting in the officers having to use physical force to control him and place him into handcuffs. The masculine was subsequently placed on a psychiatric detention and transported the hospital for evaluation.”

There was a disturbance at Two:38 p.m. in the two thousand nine hundred block of Adeline Street.

There was a felony attack or battery at Five:55 p.m. in the one hundred block of Seawall Drive. Police arrested Cynthia Mathis, 52, on suspicion of onslaught with a deadly weapon other than a firearm. She is no longer in custody, having posted bond for a $30,000 bail. She is scheduled to come in a prayer July Five, and has already been arraigned, according to online records from the Alameda County sheriff’s office.

There was a home burglary at 6:25 p.m. in the two thousand nine hundred block of Florence Street.

UCPD confiscated a bicycle wheel at 11:52 p.m. from West End Way in Albany. It was taken to the station for safekeeping.

Shown above: assaults or batteries, weapon calls, sexual assaults, arsons and disturbances. Click the photo for a list. (Click “show crime report” to see the list.) Source: Crimemapping.com Sunday, June Five

There was a robbery at 12:Ten a.m. at Prospect Street and Channing Way.

There was a felony sexual onslaught at 11:50 a.m. in the two thousand three hundred block of San Pablo Avenue.

UCPD responded at 12:52 p.m. to a petite fire in University Village in Albany in the six hundred block of Kula Gulf Way. The Albany Fire Department and UC fire marshal also responded.

Police arrested an 18-year-old who grabbed a cellphone from another person at the downtown Berkeley BART station, then punched him in the face before fleeing on a train after a bystander was able to take back the phone. The robbery attempt happened just before 1:Ten p.m., according to the BART Police. Jordan Perez, who turned nineteen on Thursday, remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $30,000. His next court appearance was not listed in sheriff’s office records online. Read more on Berkeleyside.

There were two disturbance calls, at two p.m. in the one hundred block of Spinnaker Way, and at Three:36 p.m. in the one thousand eight hundred block of Arch Street.

A woman reported to the BART Police the theft of her blue and white Sutra bike from the North Berkeley station inbetween eight a.m. and 6:40 p.m. The bike had been locked with a cable and lock.

UCPD responded at 9:16 p.m. for a 48-year-old man who was making suspicious nine hundred eleven calls from a payphone at two thousand two hundred one Bancroft Way.

A vehicle was stolen at Ten:30 p.m. in the one thousand one hundred block of Allston Way.

A fire that broke out in a paint booth was quickly contained. Photo: Teresa Martinez

There were three disturbance calls: at midnight in the two thousand six hundred block of Mathews Street; at one p.m. in the nine hundred block of Indian Rock Avenue; and at 11:36 p.m. in the seven hundred block of Ashby Avenue.

There were four home burglaries, at two a.m. in the one thousand six hundred block of Harmon Street; at eight a.m. in the one thousand nine hundred block of Berryman Street; at one p.m. in the one thousand nine hundred block of Stuart Street; and at 9:30 p.m. in the two thousand six hundred block of Center Street.

Three vehicles were stolen: at Two:07 a.m. in the one thousand six hundred block of Josephine Street; at eight a.m. at Curtis and Virginia streets; and at 9:30 p.m. in the two thousand six hundred block of Shattuck Avenue. Police arrested Julia Foster, 20, in connection with the incident on Josephine on suspicion of vehicle theft, burglary and other violations. She is no longer in custody, according to online records from the sheriff’s department. She is scheduled for further pretrial Wednesday, June 22.

A machinery fire in West Berkeley was quickly contained and extinguished by the Berkeley Fire Department. The incident, which was very first reported around 11:15 a.m., happened at the corner of Anthony and Fifth streets, according to BFD Acting Deputy Fire Chief Abe Roman. Read more on Berkeleyside.

UCPD confiscated a knife for destruction at Center and Oxford at Trio:32 p.m.

Local resident Nancy Carleton was at Albany Beach and the Albany Bulb when she witnessed what appeared to be a search-and-rescue operation in the bay shortly before four p.m.: “There were two fire engines and two paramedic trucks in the Golden Gate Fields parking area by the beach and various rescue personnel in the water and on the beach, however they were packing up and getting ready to leave around the time we left.” Carleton was able to find out from the Albany Fire Department that the operation had been a joint drill inbetween the Berkeley and Albany emergency rescue departments. She added: “Because more windsurfers are going off Albany Beach (moderate to advanced conditions), Albany is stepping up its emergency water rescue team (and of course Berkeley already has one that practices).”

Click the map to see the list of vehicle thefts (purple) and thefts or burglaries from vehicles. (Click “show crime report” to see the list.) Source: CrimeMapping Tuesday, June 7

There was a robbery at 12:30 a.m. in the two thousand six hundred block of Sacramento Street.

UCPD got a report about a man in his 30s who exposed himself in the RSF lobby at about 7:Ten a.m.. He was described as black and was wearing a taut black Under Armor long-sleeved T-shirt and a taut black beanie. The case is under investigation.

Someone turned in a knife to UCPD at 8:16 a.m. for destruction.

There was a home burglary at Ten:30 a.m. in the one thousand four hundred block of Acton Street.

A thief stole a fire extinguisher from UCPD’s Underhill parking lot inbetween June one at Four:30 p.m. and June seven at Ten:45 a.m.

There were three disturbance calls: at noon in the one thousand eight hundred block of Solano Avenue; at 8:55 p.m. in the one thousand seven hundred block of University Avenue; and at Ten:51 p.m. in the two thousand three hundred block of Shattuck Avenue.

There were two commercial burglaries, at 12:Ten p.m. in the two thousand one hundred block of Allston Way, and at Five:17 p.m. in the one thousand two hundred block of San Pablo Avenue.

A suspicious man was causing a disturbance at two thousand four hundred twenty seven Dwight Way and two thousand three hundred thirty nine Haste St., UCPD reported. The disturbances took place inbetween Two:05 p.m. and Two:25 p.m. The man was described as white and in his 50s, and six feet tall with a medium build. He had black hair and blue eyes, was clean cut, and was wearing a navy-colored T-shirt and slacks or jeans.

UCPD arrested a 25-year-old man in People’s Park at about Four:15 p.m. on suspicious of possession of a knife greater than three inches, probation disturbance and disturbance of a court order. He was taken to Berkeley Jail for booking. He is no longer listed in sheriff’s office records so the current status of the case was unknown.

Three vehicles were stolen: at six p.m. in the one thousand four hundred block of Henry Street; at six p.m. in the one thousand five hundred block of Le Roy Avenue; and at seven p.m. in the one thousand one hundred block of Hearst Avenue.

There was a call involving a gun or other weapon at Ten:48 p.m. at Alcatraz Avenue and Dover Street.

There were three disturbance calls: at Two:06 a.m. at Bowditch Street and Durant Avenue; at Trio:30 a.m. in the two thousand three hundred block of Parker Street; and at Ten:Legal p.m. in the two thousand block of San Pablo Avenue.

There were two commercial burglaries, at Trio:48 a.m. in the two thousand three hundred block of San Pablo, and at 7:58 a.m. in the one thousand nine hundred block of Addison Street.

South Berkeley neighbors were on alert when police responded to 65th and Herzog streets, in North Oakland, for a report of a possible kidnapping. Berkeleyside kept readers informed on Facebook, and police put out numerous alerts about the incident. OPD said the report came in at about 9:15 a.m. about a possible kidnapping in the one thousand block of 65th. Ultimately, the teenage victim was found safe and the person believed to the responsible, a man in his 20s, was arrested. Several Berkeley Police officers helped block traffic in the area and look for the suspect during the incident. BPD spokesman Sgt. Andrew Frankel confirmed today, June 15, this was not related to several kidnapping attempts in Berkeley that began last fall. (This item very first appeared in an earlier blotter for timeliness.)

There was a call involving a gun or other weapon at Ten:05 a.m. at an unlisted location.

At about eleven a.m., a masculine faculty member at Evans Hall reported receiving “troubling emails” from a former student, UCPD reported. The case is under investigation.

Darion Brown. Photo: ACSO

A 21-year-old man from Pittsburg who was arrested in Berkeley with a gun authorities say was used to kill a youthfull woman in Oakland earlier that day has been charged with murder. Berkeley officers arrested Darion Brown at Ten:30 a.m. June eight after being called to one thousand two hundred one The Alameda for a report of a man who was “acting aggressive” toward Chevron gas station customers, according to court papers. Brown is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail and is scheduled to come in a prayer July five at the René C. Davidson Courthouse in downtown Oakland. He has already been arraigned, according to sheriff’s office records online. Read more on Berkeleyside.

Three vehicles were stolen: at Two:30 p.m. at Ashby Avenue and Harper Street; at six p.m. in the one thousand three hundred block of Milvia Street; and at eleven p.m. in the one thousand six hundred block of California Street.

There were three home burglaries: at Two:30 p.m. in the one thousand four hundred block of Harmon Street; at eight p.m. in the two thousand four hundred block of Prospect Street; and at eleven p.m. in the seven hundred block of Euclid Avenue.

UCPD received a report of a rape May twenty at two a.m. in the courtyard of Unit Trio, at two thousand four hundred Durant St., authorities said. The agency received word of the incident June 8, and noted that the suspect and victim knew each other. The suspect was described as a 20-year-old masculine student, five feet ten inches tall and one hundred ninety pounds, with a medium build and brown wavy medium-length hair. Police ask anyone with information about the case to call UCPD at 510-642-6760. For safety tips related to sexual attack, read the original statement from UCPD. (This incident appeared in last week’s blotter for timeliness.)

Berkeley public safety data resources

The Berkeley Police Department incident log on CrimeMapping and CrimeView Community
The UCPD crime log, also posted in brief on CrimeMapping, and UCPD crime alerts
Listen to the police scanner online
Local Crime News lists arrests of Berkeley residents (not by agency); BPD’s arrest log and booking log (fresh as of April 2016)
Nixle public safety alerts, by email and text, from BPD and UCPD
The Berkeley Police Department’s “calls for service” warmth map
BPD on Twitter: Chief Meehan, spokesman Sgt. Frankel, Officer Byron White
See what the Berkeley Safe Neighborhoods Committee (BSNC) is up to
Learn about what info BPD can release to the public
Find your area coordinator to ask about neighborhood issues (but don’t leave behind to peak Berkeleyside, too!)

Please note: These items represent a sampling of calls; incidents that took place during a range of time are listed unless otherwise noted by the beginning of that time period. Fresh reports may be added to CrimeMapping in an unpredictable manner, so numbers may increase in the days after this report. This post does not reflect every call. See latest Berkeley crime blotters.

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