Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Jan. 1-7

Selected calls to the Berkeley Police, via CrimeMapping.com. Scroll down for detailed maps. Click the map above for the list. See the map key here.

This is an overview of recent crime in Berkeley, exclusively 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 Jan. 1-7, there were reports of 13 robberies, 20 burglaries, 11 assaults or batteries, one weapon-involved call and one sexual assault, according to CrimeMapping.com. There were also six stolen vehicles, eight disturbances and 23 auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles reported. Significant incidents from the University of California Police Department (UCPD) included one call involving a weapon. These numbers are subject to change. Click the links above for the latest numbers.

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Thursday, Jan. 1

There were four robberies: at 1:30 a.m. in the 2000 block of University Avenue; at 4 a.m. in the 1800 block of University; at 6:46 p.m. in the 2000 block of Kittredge Street; and at 8:45 p.m. in the 1200 block of Haskell Street.

There was an arson at 6:55 a.m. in the 100 block of Berkeley Square.

A home was burglarized at 6:10 p.m. in the 2300 block of Acton Street.

There were 20 burglaries (shown in black) reported over this period, via CrimeMapping.com. The prior week there were 31. There were also 13 robberies (in blue), following two the prior week. Click the map for a list of both.

Friday, Jan. 2

There were two home burglaries, at 10 a.m. in the 2700 block of Dwight Way, and at noon in the 2900 block of Russell Street.

Police arrested Berkeley resident Tommy Copes, 25, on suspicion of robbery at 4:33 p.m., according to the Alameda County sheriff’s department. (The arrest was not listed on CrimeMapping, so no location information was available.) Copes has been released from custody, on bail of $105,000, and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 15 at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.

A business was burglarized at 5:30 p.m. in the 3000 block of Telegraph Avenue.

Saturday, Jan. 3

Readers asked Berkeleyside about what sounded like gunshots in North Berkeley on Sunday, Jan. 3. Wrote one: “A bunch of my neighbors near NB BART mentioned 3 loud bangs/flashes at about 3:15 this (Sunday) morning.” Wrote another: “Did anyone hear gunshots in North Berkeley last night around 3:20? Near Cedar and Sacramento.” Officer Byron White, a Berkeley Police spokesman, said the department also received calls from curious residents. He said via email: “Officers responded to the area to investigate, and did not find any injured parties, etc. However the handling officer did speak to one caller on the 1300 block of Delaware Street who told us that it was a power transformer that blew near their house. That same caller stated that PG&E had been working on the transformer during the past week.” (This first appeared in last week’s crime blotter for timeliness.)

There were two home burglaries, at midnight in the 1700 block of Euclid Avenue, and at 6 p.m. in the 100 block of Tunnel Road.

There was a felony assault or battery at 2:48 p.m. at Haste and Ellsworth streets.

There were two robberies, at 6 p.m. in the 1800 block of Woolsey Street, and at 7 p.m. in the 3000 block of Shattuck Avenue.

A vehicle was stolen at 6:15 p.m. in the 1900 block of Oxford Street.

Shown above: assaults or batteries, weapon calls, sexual assaults, arsons and disturbances. Click the image for a list. Source: Crimemapping.com

Sunday, Jan. 4

Three homes were burglarized: at 12:01 a.m. in the 2800 block of Piedmont Avenue; at noon in the 2400 block of Stuart Street; and at 2:05 p.m. in the 2300 block of Ellsworth Street.

Two businesses were burglarized, at 1:05 a.m. in the 1600 block of Sixth Street, and at 3:45 a.m. in the 2400 block of Durant Avenue.

There were three disturbance calls: at 4:10 a.m. in the 900 block of Addison Street; at 9 a.m. in the 2400 block of McKinley Avenue; and at 1:08 p.m. in the 2000 block of Kittredge Street.

Four vehicles were stolen: at 8 a.m. in the 1400 block of Channing Way; at 1 p.m. in the 1800 block of Eighth Street; at 5 p.m. in the 1100 block of Sixth; and at 7:10 p.m. in the 1800 block of Fairview Street.

There were four robberies: at 9:57 a.m. in the 2800 block of McGee Avenue; at 11:10 a.m. in the 1800 block of University Avenue; at 6:36 p.m. at Hillegass Avenue and Dwight Way; and at 8:23 p.m. in the 2600 block of Telegraph. Police arrested 41-year-old Pierre Jolivette in connection with the incident on University; he remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $50,000 and is set for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 15.

A pedestrian with moderate injuries was taken by ambulance to Highland Hospital at about 6 p.m. after being struck by a driver in South Berkeley. Read more on Berkeleyside.

There was a felony assault or battery at 6:13 p.m. at Fifth and Harrison streets. Police arrested a 29-year-old Berkeley man on suspicion of felony assault causing great bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer or firefighter, but he is no longer in custody and charges do not appear to have been filed, according to online records.

Monday, Jan. 5

There was a felony sexual assault just after midnight in the 2700 block of Shattuck Avenue.

Police handled a call involving a weapon at 12:19 a.m. at Telegraph Avenue and Parker Street. Police arrested 33-year-old Reza Jannati at 12:51 a.m. on suspicion of carrying a concealed dirk or dagger and possession of burglary tools. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail; no bail or court hearing information was available from the Alameda County sheriff’s department.

There were three disturbance calls: at 9:10 a.m. in the 2200 block of Prince Street; at 10:30 a.m. in the 2100 block of Shattuck; and at 4:32 p.m. in the 1800 block of Francisco Street.

There was a home burglary at 11:57 a.m. in the 1600 block of Delaware Street.

There were 23 thefts or burglaries from vehicles reported on CrimeMapping. There were 36 the prior week. There were also six vehicles stolen (in purple). Click the map for a list of incidents.

Tuesday, Jan. 6

UCPD responded just before 8:50 a.m. to a call involving a weapon at Maximino Martinez Commons at 2520 Channing Way. Police arrested Kaileen Cassedy, 31, on suspicion of probation violation, two counts of possession of narcotics, possession of paraphernalia and one count of possession of a prohibited weapon on campus. She was taken to Berkeley Jail but no longer appears to be in custody, according to online records. Cassedy was also issued a seven-day stay-away order from the UC Berkeley campus, according to UCPD.

There were two home burglaries, at 8:50 a.m. in the 1500 block of 62nd Street, and at 6:45 p.m. in the 1300 block of Fourth Street.

There was a felony assault or battery at 12:35 p.m. at Milvia and Addison streets.

From the BART Police: A thief stole a catalytic converter from a Honda Accord that had been parked at the North Berkeley BART station in the southwest lot. According to police, the incident took place between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

There was a commercial burglary at 6:45 p.m. in the 1300 block of Fourth Street.

There was a disturbance call at 8:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of Oregon Street.

There were two robberies, at 8:45 p.m. at Durant and Telegraph avenues, and at 9:05 p.m. Allston Way and Shattuck Avenue.

Police arrested two people in connection with the first incident, but are still looking for a third. According to a statement from UCPD, a 38-year-old man was walking to his vehicle when three males demanded his phone. He refused and they kept following him and demanding the phone: “The victim started to run, tripped and fell. The suspects punched and kicked the victim while he was on the ground, grabbed his phone and fled.” UCPD officers at the same time heard a report over the radio about trespassers inside a building in the 2500 block of Durant, where they found two people who matched the description of the robbery suspects. The victim identified them and police arrested them. As a result of the robbery, the man non-life threatening injuries and was treated at the scene by Berkeley paramedics. Police identified the men who were arrested as Tray McNeill, 21, and Carlos Arredondo, 24. Neither remains in custody, and charges do not appear to have been filed. The third person was described by police as unknown race male who was wearing a black baseball cap, black jacket and blue jeans.
According to UCPD, in the second incident, a 21-year-old woman had been walking when a man on a bike approached her and grabbed her cellphone from her hand. He was seen riding away on Allston Way. UCPD responded and detained a man they said was responsible. The victim identified him and police found the woman’s cellphone during the arrest. Police identified the man as Preston Bouie, 23. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $150,000, and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 21, according to the Alameda County sheriff’s department.

A vehicle was stolen at 10 p.m. in the 2300 block of Bowditch Street.

Wednesday, Jan. 7

There were two commercial burglaries, at 2:40 a.m. in the 1700 block of Fourth Street, and at 3:40 a.m. in the 2100 block of Allston Way.

There were three home burglaries: at 11:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Summit Lane; at noon in the 1500 block of Hearst Avenue; and at 4:30 p.m. in the 1700 block of Lincoln Street.

There was a robbery at 1 p.m. in the 1900 block of Allston Way.

There was a disturbance at 4:44 p.m. in the 900 block of University Avenue.

Other recent incidents

On Friday, Jan. 9, a man was walking in the 2500 block of Bancroft Way at about 8:30 p.m. when three males who appeared to be in their mid- and late teens robbed him with a handgun, according to UCPD. One of the males “brandished a handgun and demanded the victim’s property. The victim refused and one of the suspects struck him.” They took the man’s cellphone and fled the scene in a beige 4-door sedan driven by a fourth person (no description provided). They were last seen driving west on Bancroft. The victim sustained minor physical injuries during the robbery. Police searched the area but could not locate robbers. All three were described as black. Two appeared to 14-16 years old and 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 9 inches tall with thin builds. One wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans, and the other was wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt. The third robber appeared to be 18-20 years old, and a bit taller, 5 feet 10 to 5 feet 11 inches tall, also with a thin build. He was wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt. Authorities ask anyone with information about this group or this incident to call the Berkeley Police Department at 510-981-5900.

See the Berkeley Police Department’s 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. The Berkeley Police Department also posts “calls for service” spreadsheets — containing more data — online for those who would like to see more. New reports may be added to CrimeMapping in an unpredictable manner, so numbers may increase in the days after this report. This post does not reflect every call. See recent Berkeley crime blotters here.

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Other recent incidents

Emilie Raguso