An Oakland man has been charged with battery and other crimes after Berkeley police say he punched and threw a glass bottle at a man, then tried to stab him with a knife.
Kaidi Clutchette, 35, was arrested, most recently, June 24 at 9:50 p.m. two blocks south of the UC Berkeley campus on Telegraph Avenue. But he was also arrested two other times in Berkeley since last fall after reports of violent acts against women, according to police.
According to Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats, Clutchette and another man had been standing on the sidewalk in the 2400 block of Telegraph Avenue, near Channing Way, when the man “asked Clutchette to move away.”
Said Coats, via email: “Clutchette walked away, but unexpectedly turned around and punched the victim. Clutchette then threw a glass bottle at the victim, hitting him. Clutchette then pulled out a knife and attempted to stab the victim.”
Officers who responded detained Clutchette. While they were on scene, a second person walked up and said Clutchette had also struck him, but told officers he did not want to press charges.
When police booked Clutchette into Berkeley Jail, said Coats, he tried to bite one of the officers.
It’s not the first time Berkeley police have arrested Clutchette.
In September, Berkeley Police officers arrested him after a woman said Clutchette sexually assaulted her in the 2100 block of Allston Way, according to court documents.
Police said the assault took place between 5 and 6 a.m. after Clutchette gave the woman methamphetamine and a pipe to smoke it with. She told him she did not want sexual contact with him, but he raped her and forced himself upon her physically in other ways as well, police wrote in a document related to Clutchette’s arrest in that case.
The Alameda County district attorney’s office ultimately charged Clutchette only with possession of a controlled substance for that incident; police said they found him with a glass pipe and that, just prior to his arrest, he discarded a plastic baggie containing what appeared to be methamphetamine.
Earlier this year, in February, University of California Police officers released a statement identifying Clutchette as one of three men who punched a woman and stole her money in the 2500 block of Hillegass Avenue, near People’s Park.
In that incident, a 36-year-old woman had been sitting on the sidewalk when the men approached her: “They started crowding the victim and made her fear for her safety. The victim started to get up at which time she noticed that money had been taken from her wallet which was sitting next to her,” according to the statement.
The woman yelled at the group, and one of the men began to punch her in the face, according to authorities.
Berkeley Police officers responded to the area and arrested Clutchette and two 19-year-olds, Jessie McAllister and Jerron McCoy. The victim was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
It was not immediately known what became of any charges in that case.
According to court documents obtained after Clutchette’s arrest last fall, he had seven prior convictions and had served time in prison related to possession, robbery, sale of a controlled substance and grand theft.
Clutchette has been charged, after the most recent incident, with battery, battery on a peace officer, assault and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was scheduled to have an attorney and plea hearing Monday, June 30. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin with a bail of $15,000.
Related:
Berkeleyside Police Blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Sept. 19-25 (09.30.13)
Berkeleyside Police Blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Feb. 20-26 (03.13.14)
Get the latest Berkeley news in your inbox with Berkeleyside’s free Daily Briefing. And make sure to bookmark Berkeleyside’s pages on Facebook and Twitter. You don’t need an account on those sites to view important information.
