Thursday evening, police tracked a teenage boy believed to have robbed a male victim of his cellphone to Strawberry Creek Park in West Berkeley, where they arrested him.
According to Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats, the victim flagged down an officer in front of the Public Safety Building, on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, to report the cellphone robbery, which had taken place in Ohlone Park, at 1701 Hearst Ave.
The time of that incident and details about what happened were not available Friday. Berkeleyside has requested additional information.
Coats said via email that police learned that the person responsible for the robbery had gone to Strawberry Creek Park, several blocks southwest of Ohlone Park. Officers organized a team to respond to the park to find him.
According to police scanner traffic, police set up a perimeter in the neighborhood, then detained more than 10 teenage boys and one adult during the operation. Some of the youth reportedly took off running as police moved in at about 5:40 p.m., but officers were able to detain them quickly in two locations, near Allston Way and near what was described as “a pond” in the middle of the park.
Officers brought the victim to the park to identify the person he believed was responsible for the robbery, according to scanner traffic. The others who had been detained were reportedly released by 6:20 p.m.
Police arrested a 15-year-old Berkeley boy in connection with the robbery, said Coats, via email.
During the follow-up investigation, police recovered the victim’s cellphone, she said.
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Related:
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Shots fired early Saturday near West Berkeley park (11.02.13)
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