Update, Dec. 17: UCPD spokesman Lt. Eric Tejada said the initial release that went out saying three people had been arrested in this case had been wrong, and has since been corrected. The release posted online now reads that three people were identified in the case Dec. 1.
“This investigation is ongoing, but three suspects have been identified. There is reason to believe that these suspects committed similar additional crimes in the hills above Berkeley & Oakland on the night of Wednesday, November 26th / early morning of Thursday, November 27th (Thanksgiving Day). We are asking for any additional victims or witnesses to please contact the UC Berkeley Police Department or their own local police department to make a report as soon as possible.”
UCPD sends out crime alerts by email, but never sent out a corrected news release.
The department announced Dec. 17 that arrests were made Tuesday. Read more on Berkeleyside.
The headline and story below have now been corrected to reflect the accurate information.
Original story, Dec. 1: University of California police have identified three men suspected of robbing and kidnapping two people in the pre-dawn hours of Thanksgiving. UCPD would not release their names.
Three males armed with handguns and a baseball bat kidnapped and robbed a man and a woman at a dirt turn-out along Grizzly Peak Boulevard at 2 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27.
The victims, a 26-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man, were sitting in their car looking out toward the bay. Three suspects, two armed with handguns and one with a baseball bat, approached them and demanded money. The victims had no money on them, so one suspect entered their car and demanded that they drive to an ATM. The other suspects followed in their car.
At the ATM, the victims provided the suspects with the money and the suspects left the area. There were no injuries during the encounter.
The suspects’ vehicle is described as a 2005 Honda Element, orange and gray in color. The three suspects were described as:
- Suspect #1: White, male, approximately 5’-5”, slim build, and armed with a firearm or baseball bat.
- Suspect #2: White, male, approximately 6’-3”, medium build, and armed with a firearm or baseball bat.
- Suspect #3: White, male, approximately 5’-5”, slim build, wearing a black beanie-style cap, a red hooded sweatshirt, and armed with a firearm or baseball bat.
According to UCPD, the three suspects may have committed similar crimes in the hills above Berkeley and Oakland late on Wednesday, Nov. 26, and early on Thanksgiving.
The police are continuing the investigation and asking for any additional victims or witnesses to please contact UCPD or the Berkeley Police Department to make a report as soon as possible.
UCPD can be reached on 510-642-6760.
Related:
More details emerge on UCPD carjacking, robbery arrests (12.22.14)
Berkeleyside publishes many articles every day. To see all our stories in chronological order, and read ones you may have missed, check out All the News.
