Berkeley Police have arrested seven people and confiscated three firearms in connection with a robbery, two traffic stops and a suspicious person call over the past week, police reported Monday in response to a request from Berkeleyside. All four cases reportedly involved firearms, but a weapon was not recovered in one of the incidents.
Last Tuesday, at about 1 p.m., police responded to a report of a suspicious person in a parking garage at 2450 Durant Ave. Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats said via email that a man appeared to be casing vehicles. Police responded and detained the man, Alexander Iaccarino, who was found to be in possession of stolen property taken from a burglary reported in Vallejo, according to Coats.
Iaccarino, 20, was also found to be in possession of a firearm, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property, carrying a concealed firearm and various other charges. He was scheduled for arraignment Nov. 1, and no longer appeared to be in custody as of Monday, according to the Alameda County sheriff’s department.
On Friday, Nov. 1, a female was walking in the 2600 block of Derby Street at 8:30 p.m. when a young man approached her and pointed a firearm at her. He took her phone and started to reach for her purse, said Coats, which the victim turned over to him, fearing for her safety. The man fled on foot, but police detained him near Regent Street and Dwight Way and arrested him on suspicion of robbery, Coats said.
The man was identified as Kalee Jelani Gibbs, 18, of Berkeley. The weapon was not recovered, said Coats. Gibbs is scheduled for arraignment Nov. 5, and is being held on bail of $100,000, according to the sheriff’s department.
On Saturday, Nov. 2, police arrested two people in a vehicle at Telegraph Avenue and Howe Street who had a loaded firearm in their possession. Just before 9 p.m., a Berkeley Police officer conducted a traffic stop at Telegraph and Howe, and attempted to search the passenger, identified as Alexander McGee, 23, of Oakland because he was on probation. Coats said McGee tried to flee, and actively resisted police efforts: “It took several officers to detain” him, said Coats. Police found a loaded firearm in the vehicle in an area accessible to both McGee and the driver, Abiel Briceno, 33, of Oakland.
McGee was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, resisting a peace officer, probation violation and parole violation. He is being held without bail due to the parole violation. Briceno is being held on $80,000 bail on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm and carrying a loaded firearm. They are scheduled for arraignment Nov. 5, according to the sheriff’s department.
Sunday, police arrested three teens from Concord after finding them with a concealed, loaded firearm during a traffic stop, said Coats. At about 1:15 a.m., police tried to stop a vehicle at Dana Street and Bancroft Way on the southern border of the Cal campus. During their investigation, police conducted a vehicle search and found the loaded weapon. Coats said all three of the vehicle’s occupants had access to the weapon, so all three were arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm.
According to the Alameda County sheriff’s department, they also were arrested on suspicion of participating in a criminal street gang.
Police identified the young men as Oscar Torres, 19; Zackery Lopez, 18; and Juan Ochoa, 18. They are being held at the Berkeley Jail with a bail of $90,000 and are scheduled for arraignment Tuesday, Nov. 5.
(Editor’s note: Most of these incidents took place after the period covered in Berkeleyside’s weekly police blotter report, which also was released today. In the interest of timely reporting, they are rounded up here.)
Related:
Berkeleyside Police Blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Oct. 24-30 (11.04.13)
Shots fired early Saturday near West Berkeley park (11.02.13)
Police arrest mother, daughter after Berkeley Hills burglary (11.01.13)
2 charged with robbery after drug deal gone awry (10.30.13)
Berkeleyside Police Blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Oct. 17-23 (10.28.13)
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