Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, March 19-25

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 overview of recent crime in Berkeley is based on reports to the Berkeley Police unless otherwise noted. Please don’t hesitate to share photos, videos or tips, about breaking news or neighborhood safety issues, via email at crime@berkeleyside.com or on Facebook or Twitter; let us know if you prefer to be anonymous. Don’t assume someone else will alert us — we value your eyes and ears, and you may be the only one to get in touch. We very much want to know about issues of neighborhood concern.

From March 19-25, there were reports of six robberies, 21 burglaries, 17 assaults or batteries, two weapon-involved calls and no sexual assaults, according to CrimeMapping.com. There were also six stolen vehicles, 12 disturbances and 43 auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles reported. Significant incidents from the University of California Police Department (UCPD) included one sex crime from earlier in the month. These numbers are subject to change. Click the links for the latest numbers. The following items represent a sampling of calls, and times may be approximate.

Thursday, March 19

There were two vehicles stolen, at 5:30 a.m. in the 3100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and at 4 p.m. in the 2200 block of Eunice Street.

There were two home burglaries, at 11:30 a.m. in the 1600 block of Grant Street, and at 10 p.m. in the 1100 block of Shattuck Avenue.

UCPD arrested Danielle Bonnington, 33, in connection with a robbery in the Bowles parking lot the prior week. Two 18-year-old students were robbed of a backpack, an iPhone and a wallet containing $200. She remains in custody without bail at Santa Rita Jail. Read more in last week’s blotter.

UCPD reported a sex crime in the Foothill housing complex at 2700 Hearst Ave., but that was in connection with an incident reported March 10.

There was a felony assault or battery at 7:17 p.m. in the 2300 block of Shattuck.

There was a disturbance at 11:45 p.m. in the 2500 block of San Pablo Avenue.

Police are investigating after a man working as a Downtown Berkeley Association “ambassador” punched a homeless man multiple times in the alley behind CVS, at Shattuck Avenue and Bancroft Way. Police initially arrested the homeless man and an associate in response to a report which now appears to have been false. Berkeleyside will continue to follow the story. See past coverage.

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

Friday, March 20

There were three home burglaries: at midnight in the 2200 block of McGee Avenue; at 12:35 p.m. in the 1200 block of Carleton Street; and at 9 p.m. in the 2800 block of Fulton Street.

There were two robberies, at 8:09 a.m. in the 2100 block of Allston Way, and at 10:16 a.m. in the 2000 block of Oregon Street. Police arrested Elroy McCamey, 52, on suspicion of robbery in connection with the incident on Oregon. He remains in custody and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing April 6.

Two vehicles were stolen, at 9 a.m. in the 2000 block of Fourth Street, and at 3 p.m. at Eighth Street and Heinz Avenue.

There were two disturbance calls, at 11:49 a.m. in the 1900 block of Alcatraz Avenue, and at 5:47 p.m. at Allston Way and Bonar Street.

There was an arson call at 4:30 p.m. in the 1100 block of Francisco Street.

According to Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats, at 5;48 p.m., police received a report of a person with gun inside Strawberry Creek Park. “It was reported that he was with a group of 10-15 males. Officers arrived at the location and the group started to disperse out of the park in different directions.” Police tried to detain four members of the group, who ran from officers and fail to stop for the commands. Officers managed to detain them on Bonar Street north of Addison Street. Coats said several other detentions also were made but, at the conclusion of the investigation, everyone was were released.

There was a call involving a gun or other weapon at 11:03 p.m. at Shattuck and Ashby avenues.

Saturday, March 21

There was a commercial burglary at 2:50 a.m. in the 1300 block of Ninth Street.

There were three home burglaries: at 3 a.m. in the 2600 block of Benvenue Avenue; at 6:45 p.m. in the 3000 block of Acton Street; and at 10:24 p.m. in the 1900 block of Russell Street.

There was a robbery at 11:38 a.m. in the 1700 block of Fourth Street.

Police handled a call involving a firearm at 7:14 p.m. in the 3000 block of San Pablo Avenue. Police arrested Darron Nelson, 32, on suspicion of carrying a concealed, loaded firearm, and of being prohibited from having a gun due to active probation status. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $90,000 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 8.

A vehicle was stolen at 10 p.m. in the 1100 block of Hearst Avenue.

There were 21 burglaries (shown in black) reported over this period, via CrimeMapping.com. The prior week there were 26. There were also six robberies (in blue), following five the prior week. Click the map for a list of both.

Sunday, March 22

There were four disturbance calls: at 12:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of San Pablo Avenue; at 1:45 p.m. at Shattuck Avenue and Kittredge Street; at 5 p.m. in the 2100 block of Shattuck; and at 11:33 p.m. at Dwight Way and Valley Street.

Monday, March 23

There were four home burglaries: at 8 a.m. in the 2500 block of McGee; at 9 a.m. in the 2800 block of California Street; at 9 a.m. in the 3100 block of College Avenue; and at 9:45 a.m. in the 2900 block of Regent Street. Police arrested Tiffany Henneman, 37, in connection with the burglary on California. She remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $35,000 and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing April 9.

There were three disturbance calls: at 9:30 a.m. at Regent and Parker streets; at 1:39 p.m. in the 1800 block of Delaware Street; and at 8:44 p.m. in the 2400 block of Shattuck Avenue. Police arrested Phillip Ledet, 28, on suspicion of attempted robbery and resisting arrest in connection with the incident on Shattuck. He is no longer in custody and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 10.

Police arrested 63-year-old Willis Goodwin on a warrant related to alleged lewd acts with a child. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $350,000, and is scheduled to enter a plea April 7.

There were two robberies, at 8:30 p.m. Shattuck Avenue and Haste Street, and at 8:35 p.m. at Hopkins Street and McGee.

There were 43 thefts or burglaries from vehicles, via CrimeMapping. There were 34 the prior week. There were also six vehicles stolen (in purple). Click the map for a list of incidents.

Tuesday, March 24

There were four home burglaries: at 12:25 a.m. in the 2000 block of California Street; at 5:11 a.m. in the 1700 block of Addison Street; at 5:30 a.m. in the 2300 block of Parker Street; and at 8:45 a.m. in the 1400 block of Curtis Street.

According to Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats, police served a search warrant in the 800 block of 61st Street at 6:30 a.m.: “The warrant is in relation to an ongoing investigation into a burglary here in Berkeley.” Coats said there were no arrests, and the investigation continues.

There were two disturbance calls, at 6:46 a.m. at Second and Jones streets, and at 6 p.m. in the 1500 block of Oregon Street.

Berkeley police detained a man after he was involved in an alleged assault with a hammer around 4 p.m. in Berkeley’s Southside neighborhood. Read more on Berkeleyside.

There was a commercial burglary at 7:53 p.m. in the 2200 block of Shattuck.

There was a robbery at 9:25 p.m. at Parker and Sacramento streets. Police arrested Servante Rodrigues, 21, on suspicion of numerous violations, including robbery and assault. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $230,000 and is scheduled for further pretrial April 8.

Wednesday, March 25

There were two home burglaries, at 8:15 a.m. in the 1200 block of Ashby Avenue, and at 12:45 p.m. in the 3100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

A vehicle was stolen at 10:30 a.m. in the 1000 block of Cragmont Avenue.

There was a commercial burglary at 3 p.m. in the 1300 block of Fourth Street.

There was a felony assault or battery at 3:18 p.m. in the 2300 block of Woolsey Street.

According to the BART Police, a woman said her $440 red Linus Dutch 1 speed bicycle was stolen while it was cable locked to the bike racks at the North Berkeley BART station between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Other recent incidents

On March 26, Berkeley Police officers arrested a man found in a stolen truck at the Berkeley marina who authorities say tried to kill his 86-year-old mother in Stockton earlier this month in a brutal assault. Read more on Berkeleyside.

A Berkeley High School student was suspended after stabbing a fellow student in the back March 26. The incident happened off campus during the lunch period. The BHS senior who was injured sustained a non-life-threatening knife wound. Read more on Berkeleyside.

From UCPD on April 2: On Tuesday, March 3, at 4:55 p.m. UCPD received a report of a sexual assault that occurred a short time earlier in a university housing unit. A female student told authorities she had been sexually assaulted by a male co-worker in her dorm room. The woman said she met the man at a company in the Bay Area were she had been doing an internship. UCPD’s Criminal Investigation Bureau is investigating this crime. UCPD said that, due to investigative needs, this alert “was delayed in being issued.”

Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats was able to track down a bit more information on the March 17 crash involving a motorcyclist at Rose and Henry streets. Coats said the motorcyclist, a 48-year-old Berkeley man, was eastbound on Rose approaching Henry. A truck driven by a 33-year-old Hayward man was turning right on Rose from Henry. Said Coats, “Witnesses reported hearing the motorcycle gunning his engine” as he tried to go around the truck, “striking a traffic cone causing him to lose control.” The motorcyclist was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. (This conflicts with reports in last week’s blotter from witnesses who thought it was the motorcyclist tending to someone who had been hit.)

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 in brief 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