This is a partial list of recent crime in Berkeley, compiled by Berkeleyside, and based on reports to the Berkeley Police Department unless otherwise noted. The following items represent a sampling of calls, and times may be approximate.
From Sept. 25 to Oct. 1, there were reports of 16 burglaries, 26 auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles and 10 stolen vehicles, according to CrimeMapping.com. Five robberies, 16 assaults, domestic violence incidents or batteries and seven sexual assaults were reported. Significant incidents from the University of California Police Department included two burglaries, a sex crime and five reports of vandalism. These numbers are subject to change. Click the links above for the latest numbers.
We always appreciate photographs and tips, about breaking news or neighborhood safety issues, via email at tips@berkeleyside.com or on Facebook or Twitter; please let us know up front if you prefer to be anonymous.
Thursday, Sept. 25
There were two home burglaries, at 7 a.m. in the 1000 block of Channing Way, and at 4:35 p.m. in the 1200 block of Bancroft Way.
A robbery took place at 7:13 a.m. at Parker Street and Benvenue Avenue.
A business was burglarized at 4:43 p.m. in the 1800 block of Fourth Street.
There was a disturbance at 9:17 p.m. in the 900 block of Dwight Way.
Police arrested 22-year-old Nikolas Kates at 9:52 p.m. on suspicion of second-degree burglary.
Police arrested 37-year-old Christopher Lyles at 11:26 p.m. on a warrant for vehicle theft.
Friday, Sept. 26
Two homes were burgled, at midnight in the 2700 block of Mathews Street, and at 4:17 p.m. in the 2400 block of Acton Street.
A robbery took place at 12:03 a.m. at Dwight Way and Ellsworth Street. Police arrested 20-year-old Maurice Sharif on suspicion of robbery, possessing a controlled substance in prison, and public intoxication. James Shaw, 22, also was arrested on suspicion of robbery and public intoxication.
Someone reportedly brandished a weapon at 2:40 a.m. in the 2500 block of Durant Avenue, and a crime involving a gun or other weapon took place at 11:05 p.m. at Alcatraz Avenue and Ellis Street. Police arrested 23-year-old Donzale Mejia on suspicion of driving under the influence, carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm during the Alcatraz and Ellis incident. He is no longer in custody. (Mejia also was arrested in June in connection with a shooting in Berkeley, but was later released without charges.)
Police investigated a suspicious device at San Pablo Avenue and Gilman Street on Friday, Sept. 26, just before 6:20 a.m., but ultimately determined that the device was not hazardous. During the investigation, residents were advised to shelter in place, and the intersection was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Police sent out Nixle alerts to let community members know about the incident. (Berkeleyside first reported this incident in last week’s blotter, for timeliness.)
Police arrested Nicholas Kauzlarich, 36, on suspicion of parole violation at 9:22 a.m.
There was a felony assault at 10:50 a.m. in the 2100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
A vehicle was reported stolen at 5 p.m. at Blake Street and Telegraph Avenue.
Police responded to a disturbance at 8:12 p.m. at Sacramento and Ward streets, and two “second response” calls, at 11:11 p.m. in the 2600 block of Warring Street, and at 11:40 p.m. in the 2400 block of Fulton Street.
A business was burglarized at 8:30 p.m. in the 2200 block of Milvia Street. On Sept. 29, police arrested Berkeley resident Jonathan Osborne-Calierno, 26, on suspicion of burglary and receiving stolen property.
Saturday, Sept. 27
There were three commercial burglaries: at 12:39 a.m. in the 2300 block of Sixth Street; at 1:01 a.m. in the 2600 block of Ashby Avenue; and at 11:59 p.m. in the 600 block of Cedar Street.
Police responded to four “second response” calls: at 12:42 a.m. in the 2400 block of Ellsworth; at 1:05 a.m. in the 2300 block of Channing; at 1:28 a.m. in the same block; and at 1:34 a.m. in the 2300 block of Piedmont Avenue.
Berkeley police arrested Carl Everfield, 27, in Emeryville at 3 a.m. in connection with carrying a concealed firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing ammunition and resisting arrest. He has since been charged by the Alameda County district attorney’s office with possession of marijuana for sale, use of a firearm during a felony and evading a peace officer with reckless disregard. Everfield remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail. Berkeleyside has requested additional information from the district attorney’s office.
There were two felony sexual assaults — at 11 a.m. at Piedmont and Durant avenues, and at 2 p.m. at Warring Street and Channing — and a misdemeanor sexual assault at 5 p.m. in the 1400 block of Alcatraz Avenue. Police arrested a 20-year-old UC Berkeley student — who later was exonerated — in connection with the Warring Street incident, which authorities say took place at the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
Three vehicles were stolen: at 2 p.m. at Addison and Milvia streets; at 8:30 p.m. at Eighth and Page streets; and at 9 p.m. in the 100 block of Bret Harte Road.
BART Police said a black-and-white-colored Specialized 21-speed mountain bike was stolen from the west racks of the North Berkeley BART station between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The bike had been secured with a cable lock.
There were two home burglaries, at 3 p.m. in the 2200 block of 10th Street, and at 5 p.m. in the 1400 block Alcatraz Avenue.
There was a robbery at 8 p.m. in the 1900 block of Henry Street.
Police responded to two disturbance calls, at 10:48 p.m. in the 2300 block of Dwight Way, and at 11:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of Spaulding Avenue.
A call involving a gun or other weapon took place at 11:43 p.m. in the 100 block of Spinnaker Way.
Sunday, Sept. 28
Berkeley police arrested Daniel Kiehn, 31, in Oakland at 7:19 p.m. on suspicion of possession of burglary tools, burglary, vehicle theft, evading a peace office with reckless disregard to public safety, and evading a peace officer by driving the wrong way on a highway. Kiehn remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $340,000, and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Oct. 22. Berkeleyside has requested additional information from the district attorney’s office.
A vehicle was reported stolen at 9 p.m. in the 1700 block of Virginia Street.
Monday, Sept. 29
There were two home burglaries, at 2 a.m. in the 500 block of Santa Barbara Road, and at 5 p.m. in the 2300 block of McKinley Avenue.
Police arrested 25-year-old Berkeley resident Ruben Garcia Jr. on suspicion of burglary shortly before 3 a.m. at Hearst Avenue and Short Street.
Police responded to three disturbance calls: at 4:07 a.m. in the 1600 block of Fairview Street; at 8:16 a.m. in the 2800 block of Telegraph Avenue; and at 3:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of Allston Way.
There were two commercial burglaries, at 2:45 p.m. in the 2300 block of Telegraph Avenue, and at 4 p.m. in the 1800 block of Woolsey Street.
A vehicle was stolen at 6 p.m. at Eighth and Virginia streets.
Tuesday, Sept. 30
There were two felony sexual assaults reported, at midnight in the 2900 block of Adeline Street, and at 9:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of University Avenue. There were also two misdemeanor sexual assaults reported, at 3:48 a.m. in the 2900 block of Telegraph Avenue and at 10:38 p.m. in the 2000 block of Dwight Way. Police arrested 30-year-old Leemar Wilder on suspicion of indecent exposure and possession of a controlled substance in relation to the Telegraph Avenue incident. According to UCPD, some type of sex crime also took place at Bowles Hall at 4 p.m.
There were two robberies, at 4:30 a.m. in the 2300 block of Shattuck Avenue, and at 8:45 p.m. in the 2300 block of McKinley Avenue.
The University of California Police Department arrested Jerry Fairley, 34, after he was reported to have been prowling in University Village in Albany near Ohlone Avenue and Kinkead Way. Police searched Fairley and recovered a concealed handgun, and said he had burglarized a home in the complex, according to a statement released by UCPD. Fairley was arrested in connection with those violations, as well as possession of burglary tools and a $50,000 warrant out of San Francisco. Police ask anyone with information about the crime or Fairley to call UCPD at 510-642-6760. He remains in custody and is set to enter a plea Oct. 14. According to the Alameda County sheriff’s department, following a prior conviction he had been released under county supervision, which the district attorney’s office is petitioning to have revoked.
There were three stolen vehicles reported: at 9:46 a.m. in the 600 block of Gilman Street; at 10 p.m. in the 2100 block of Channing Way; and at 10:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Channing.
There were four reports of a disturbance: at 12:02 p.m. in the 1800 block of Fourth Street; at 12:05 p.m. in the 2100 block of Milvia Street; at 2:19 p.m. in the 1000 block of Parker Street; and at 10:14 p.m. at Addison Street and Spaulding Avenue.
BART Police said a $200 white men’s mountain bike was stolen while cable locked to the bike racks at the North Berkeley BART station between 2:50 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.
A felony assault took place at 10:28 p.m. at Haste and Milvia streets.
Wednesday, Oct. 1
A Berkeley man identified as Connie Sowels III was shot to death outside an Oakland nightclub, according to the Daily Californian and the Contra Costa Times. The Daily Cal also covered UCPD’s annual crime report, and published a follow-up story about that report that was focused on sexual assault related to campus.
A business was burglarized at 1:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Shattuck Avenue. Police arrested 41-year-old Phi Ngo on suspicion of second-degree burglary.
A vehicle was reported stolen at 2 p.m. in the 1300 block of Neilson Street.
A felony assault took place at 9:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Cedar Street.
Other recent incidents
Police arrested three men Saturday after they reportedly attacked a 19-year-old UC Berkeley student who tried to stop a fight. According to a statement released by the University of California Police Department, a large fight broke out in the 2500 block of Durant Avenue, between Telegraph Avenue and Bowditch Street, just after 12:30 a.m. The student saw the fight and yelled at the group to stop the violence, police said. The group broke apart, but several of its members then turned on the student, striking him in the head with a bottle. Three involved men fled the scene, but were arrested by police in the 2400 block of Durant. The student was taken to the hospital with head injuries. Police identified the assailants as Nicholas Carson, 25, Hack Culling, 21, and Sergie Flores, 23. They were arrested on suspicion of felony assault, but are no longer in custody.
Early Saturday, just after 1:30 a.m., half a dozen residents reported hearing what sounded like gunfire in South Berkeley. Said one, on Twitter, “pretty sure i just heard an assault rifle empty a full clip in south #berkeley.” Said another, on Facebook, “Heard about 7 shots in the night around 1:30 AM … somewhere near King and Prince. Any news what happened?” Berkeleyside listened to the police scanner at that time, and heard officers say an involved vehicle might have sped off on 63rd Street toward Sacramento Street. They were unable to locate any signs of a shooting. A Berkeley Police watch commander the following day said there was no information in the system about the incident. (Those who are interested can listen to Berkeley police scanner feeds online.)
If you noticed plywood covering the doors at Sal’s Pharmacy on Solano Avenue, we have a report from Jane Tierney about what happened: “Stopped in to Sal’s Pharmacy last week to find out why the front door was covered with plywood.… I spoke with Sal’s daughter, who told me that the pharmacy had been broken into, through the front glass doors. The burglar quickly made his way over the prescription counter and grabbed up all the prescriptions readied for pick up for Sal’s customers, and made his getaway. Berkeley Police Dept. showed up quickly, within three minutes, but the burglar was gone. They took fingerprints, footprints etc. A couple of hours later, they received a call from Alta Bates, saying someone had come into the ER with an overdose, and possessed a number of bottles from Sal’s. Police matched the patient’s shoes to the print found on Sal’s prescription service counter, and voila, they had their perp.” (The incident appears to have happened Sept. 9 at 7:45 p.m. The pharmacy also was broken into in August.)
Authorities are looking for a woman they say turned suddenly, without provocation, and violently shoved an 85-year-old pedestrian to the ground as she walked in downtown Berkeley in September. Read more, and watch a video of the attack, on Berkeleyside.
See the full list of Berkeley Police Department crime reports on CrimeMapping.com. See the list of calls to UC Police at Berkeley, which are also posted on CrimeMapping. See also Local Crime News’ regularly published list of arrests of Berkeley residents. Other sources of information on crime in Berkeley include the Police Department’s CrimeView Community and CrimeMapping.com. New reports may be added to CrimeMapping in an unpredictable manner, so numbers may increase slightly in the days after this report. This post does not reflect every call. See recent Berkeley crime blotters here.
Related:
Noose hanging from tree discovered at Berkeley High (10.10.14)
Op-ed: After fatal stabbing, be the change in South Berkeley (10.08.14)
Emeryville woman dies weeks after Berkeley stabbing (10.08.14)
Berkeley police: Drug was used in Cal fraternity rape case (10.07.14)
Video: Police ask for help after random violent assault of 85-year-old downtown (10.07.14)
Berkeley police make frat house arrest in rape case (10.03.14)
Berkeley Police recover loaded firearm, 9 ounces of pot during bust of 13-time felon (10.03.14)
Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Sept. 18-24 (09.30.14)
Always on call: Inside the Berkeley Police dispatch center (09.24.14)
Berkeleyside publishes many articles every day. To see all our stories in chronological order, and read ones you may have missed, check out our All the News grid.
