An intruder assaulted and killed a homeowner on Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Shasta Road at about 8:45 p.m. Feb. 18. Berkeley police arrested a suspect for homicide near the crime scene.
Last night at about 8:45 p.m. a community member called BPD from Shasta Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard to report a suspicious person near the garage when she and her husband returned to their home. The husband confronted the suspect and told him to leave. Minutes later, the husband walked outside and was assaulted.
The first arriving BPD officer rendered basic first aid to the victim until Berkeley Fire Department (BFD) paramedics took over and transported the victim to a local trauma center. Physicians pronounced the victim deceased at the hospital. BPD is not releasing the victim’s name until extended family and friends can be notified.
Additional BPD patrol officers went to the area to support the community member who called, as well as complete other aspects of the investigation such as securing the crime scene, completing neighborhood canvasses, talking to witnesses and searching for the suspect. A BPD patrol officer spotted a man who matched the description of the suspect less than a block from the crime scene. Officers detained him. He was identified as Daniel Jordan Dewitt, 23 years old of Alameda.
BPD Homicide detectives from the BPD Crimes Against Persons Unit were called in and have taken over the investigation. It is Berkeley’s second homicide this year.
BPD is urging anyone who may know anything about this crime to please call the BPD Homicide Detail at (510) 981-5741 or the 24-hour BPD non-emergency number (510) 981-5900. If a community member wishes to remain anonymous, he/she is encouraged to call the Bay Area Crimes Stoppers (BACS) at (800)-222-TIPS (8477). Any additonal information may be critical in the efforts towards the charging and prosecution of this case.
Update 3:55 p.m. Dewitt will be arraigned in Department 112 of Alameda County Superior Court on Wednesday. He was booked into the Berkeley Police Department jail for murder, 187(a) under the California Penal Code. BPD is not releasing the booking photo of Dewitt.
