Four men were arrested Saturday after two robberies near the UC Berkeley campus in the early morning hours, police said.
The University of California Police Department put out statements Tuesday about the incidents and arrests, which took place within the city of Berkeley’s jurisdiction.
Just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday, police said a 19-year-old woman was walking with friends near Bowditch Street and Bancroft Way when three young men approached.
They started “verbally harassing her and her friends,” police said in a prepared statement. “The group surrounded the victim, called her names, spit on and kicked her.”
One of the men then stole the young woman’s phone and the group got into a dark-colored vehicle nearby.
Police arrived and managed to detain the men. Officers found firearms on two of them, according to the UCPD statement.
The men were identified as Blake Brown, Elijah Mayo and Kendall Segers, all 18.
Mayo was arrested on suspicion of robbery and carrying a loaded firearm in a public place; he is being held on $140,000 bail. Brown was arrested on suspicion of robbery and is being held on $50,000 bail. Segers was arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in public and is being held on $50,000 bail.
All three remain in custody at Berkeley Jail and were scheduled for arraignment Sept. 9.
In the second incident Saturday reported by the University of California Police Department, a 22-year-old man flagged down a Berkeley Police officer just before 2 a.m.
He said he had been walking at Bancroft and College Avenue when a man approached him, punched him several times — causing minor injuries — and demanded his money.
The robber took the money then fled on foot.
A Berkeley Police officer in the area saw a man matching the robber’s description driving west on Bancroft.
Police stopped the driver and arrested him on suspicion of robbery.
He was identified as 22-year-old Malcolm Peterson. He remains in custody at Berkeley Jail with a $50,000 bail and is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 12.
Overall, police have said robberies in Berkeley decreased significantly over the first half of the year, as compared to 2013. Read more about the 2014 mid-year crime report on Berkeleyside.
Related:
Violent crime reports down 44% in Berkeley (09.08.14)
Man lured to Berkeley with sneaker ad robbed, carjacked (08.28.14)
2 arrested in Berkeley after teens report attack, robbery (08.27.14)
3 teens charged after robbery via gun in Berkeley (08.12.14)
BART Police arrest juvenile in robbery series (06.30.14)
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