This overview of recent crime in Berkeley is based on reports to the Berkeley Police unless otherwise noted. Please share photos, videos and 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 — you may be the only one to get in touch. We very much want to know about issues of neighborhood concern and rely on our readers to help us stay informed.
From Sept. 3-9, there were reports of six robberies, 13 burglaries, 16 assaults or batteries, two weapon-involved calls and three sexual assaults, according to CrimeMapping.com. There were also 12 stolen vehicles, 13 disturbances and 24 auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles reported. Three burglaries, a stolen vehicle and a sex crime were reported by the University of California Police Department (UCPD). 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; incidents that took place during a range of time are listed unless otherwise noted by the beginning of that time period.
Thursday, Sept. 3
There was a home burglary at midnight in the 1900 block of Grant Street.
Someone reportedly brandished a weapon at 8 a.m. in the 1300 block of University Avenue.
A vehicle was stolen at 10 p.m. in the 700 block of San Mateo Road.
There was a disturbance call at 10:11 p.m., and a second-response call at 11:48 p.m. in the 2700 block of Bancroft Way.
A reader asked about significant police activity in the 1300 block of Alcatraz Avenue near Baker Street, where it appeared a man was taken into custody and a helicopter was in the area. The south side of the street was closed to traffic. Berkeley Police Officer Jennifer Coats, department spokeswoman, said it was an Oakland case. No additional information was available.
Friday, Sept. 4
There was a robbery at 1:40 a.m. in the 2100 block of Oxford Street.
There was a home burglary at 8 a.m. in the 1400 block of Edith Street.
There was a disturbance call at 11 a.m. in the 2400 block of Warring Street.
There was a vice call at 3:13 p.m. in the 2100 block of Shattuck Avenue.
According to the BART Police: While on patrol at about 5:50 p.m., an officer found a green 2015 Toyota Camry that had been burglarized at the Ashby BART station by way of a front passenger window smash. The officer found the vehicle’s interior ransacked, but could not determine whether anything had been taken. The officer processed the vehicle for fingerprints. He could not find a listed phone number for the vehicle owner, so he left his business card in the Camry.
A vehicle was stolen at 8:50 p.m. in the 2300 block of Virginia Street.
There were three second-response calls: at 10:28 p.m. in the 2300 block of Piedmont Avenue; at 11 p.m. in the 2300 block of Le Conte Avenue; and at 11:56 p.m. in the 2300 block of Warring Street.
Saturday, Sept. 5
There were two home burglaries, at midnight in the 2100 block of San Pablo Avenue, and at 10 a.m. in the 2100 block of Roosevelt Avenue. Police arrested Sami Alwail on suspicion of burglary in connection with the San Pablo Avenue incident. He has since been released from custody on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to enter a plea Sept. 29. A second man was also arrested in connection with that case but he was not charged, according to online records from the sheriff’s department.
There were two robberies, at 12:01 a.m. at Dwight Way and Dana Street, and at 8:51 p.m. in the 1600 block of Oxford Street.
There were two second-response calls, at 12:25 a.m. in the 2500 block of College Avenue, and at 12:36 a.m. in the 2800 block of Derby Street.
Five vehicles were stolen: at 1 a.m. in the 900 block of Hilldale Avenue; at 6 a.m. in the 2700 block of Ridge Road; at noon in the 1600 block of Walnut Street; at noon in the 100 block of Spinnaker Way; and at 6 p.m. in the 3000 block of Deakin Street.
There was a disturbance at 8 a.m. in the 600 block of Cedar Street.
Marin Avenue in North Berkeley was closed from Marin Circle to Spruce Street after a vehicle collision prior to 9:15 p.m.. BPD spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats said she believes there were four cars involved, and two people were taken to the hospital. Berkeleyside shared news about case on Facebook the night of the accident. (Bookmark Berkeleyside on Facebook for updates; you can see the page even without a Facebook account.)
Sunday, Sept. 6
A vehicle was stolen at 1 a.m. in the 2300 block of Grant Street.
There was a commercial burglary at 6:55 a.m. in the 1600 block of Shattuck Avenue.
There were two disturbance calls, at 7:32 a.m. in the 2100 block of Fourth Street, and at 10:40 a.m. in the 2600 block of Telegraph Avenue.
There was a felony assault or battery at 9:07 a.m. in the 2100 block of Oxford Street. Police arrested a transient 52-year-old man from Berkeley on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, but he is no longer in custody and charges do not appear to have been filed, according to online records from the Alameda County sheriff’s department.
The University of California Police Department arrested a 71-year-old man authorities say was using a cellphone to record another man in a bathroom stall on the UC Berkeley campus. Authorities said Richard C. Anderson used a drill to make a hole in a bathroom stall wall Sunday in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union building on campus. Read more on Berkeleyside.
There was a robbery at 6:38 p.m. in the 200 block of University Avenue.
Monday, Sept. 7
Police handled a call involving a gun at 1:48 a.m. in the 2400 block of Durant Avenue. Police arrested 27-year-old Julion Nelson of Berkeley on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm in public. He has since been released from custody on a $90,000 bail bond and is scheduled for further pretrial Oct. 14 at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland, according to online records from the sheriff’s department.
There were three home burglaries: at 2 a.m. in the 1600 block of Grant Street; at 5:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of University; and at 9:25 p.m. in the 200 block of Panoramic Way.
A vehicle was stolen at noon in the 2000 block of Kittredge Street.
There was a robbery at 8:30 p.m. at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street. Police arrested three teenagers from Richmond after the robbery and assault. According to police, a 21-year-old Berkeley man was walking near the downtown Berkeley BART station, at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, at about 8:40 p.m. when three young men began to follow him. Read more on Berkeleyside.
A business was burglarized at 8:30 p.m. in the 1700 block of Solano Avenue.
Tuesday, Sept. 8
There were two felony sexual assaults, at 3 a.m. in the 2900 block of Adeline Street, and at 3:30 a.m. at Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way. Police arrested Charles Fowler, 50, of Berkeley in connection with the incident on Adeline. He has been charged with felony assault to commit mayhem and false imprisonment, and remains in custody with a bail of $735,000. He is scheduled to enter a plea Sept. 30.
There were two commercial burglaries, at 11:45 a.m. in the 800 block of Heinz Avenue, and at 2:09 p.m. in the 2700 block of Eighth Street.
Police released new surveillance camera footage related to the fatal shooting, by a stray bullet, of a Berkeley musician in April. The Oakland Police Department released a new photograph and video from surveillance camera footage that shows an individual authorities have identified as an additional person of interest related to the crime. Read more on Berkeleyside.
A thief stole a black four-door 1997 Honda Civic from the Underhill parking lot, according to UCPD, between 6 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
There was a home burglary at 8 p.m. in the 2200 block of Prince Street.
At about 7:15 p.m., a BART officer detained a man at the downtown Berkeley station who was described as indecently exposing himself while verbally abusing passengers on a Richmond-bound train. A victim placed the man under citizen’s arrest on suspicion of willfully disturbing others. A wants/warrants check revealed the suspect was not in compliance with his sex registrant status, according to the BART Police, and that he was in violation of a court order prohibiting him from entering BART property. As the officer prepared to place the man under arrest he resisted, “so the officer used a moderate amount of physical force to place him in handcuffs.” According to BART, “neither the officer, nor the suspect were injured.” The man was booked into the county jail in connection with the violations.
Wednesday, Sept. 9
There was a misdemeanor sexual assault at 2 a.m. in the 2400 block of Durant Avenue.
Three vehicles were stolen: at 5:30 a.m. in the 2000 block of Carleton Street; at 7 p.m. in the 1000 block of Page Street; and at 9 p.m. in the 1300 block of Channing Way.
There was a robbery at 10:45 a.m. in the 2900 block of College.
There was a disturbance at 10:05 p.m. in the 1800 block of Milvia Street.
There was a home burglary at 11 p.m. in the 2400 block of Fulton Street.
Other notable incidents
In June, Berkeleyside reported the arrest of 34-year-old Anthony Beamon on suspicion of a range of violations related to drug sales and firearm possession. According to court papers, the Alameda County district attorney’s office charged Beamon on June 15 with 10 felonies: possession of a firearm by a felon; carrying a loaded firearm; possession of ammunition by a prohibited person; possession of a controlled substance with a firearm; possession for sale of cocaine base, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine; and transportation of cocaine and methamphetamine for sale.
According to court papers, a Berkeley Police officer arrested Beamon at his Oakland home after serving a search warrant there. Police said Beamon tried to flee when police arrived, and tried to ditch a loaded handgun he had been carrying. Police searched Beamon, his vehicles and his bedroom, recovering the handgun noted above, about 10 ounces of methamphetamine, 3 ounces of crack cocaine, 21 grams of heroin, 4.85 grams of powder cocaine and 4 ounces of marijuana, all of which were packaged for sale, according to police.
Police said they also found seven gun magazines, including two that were extended and held 31 rounds, ammunition, seven digital scales, three cellphones, packaging materials and more than $6,500 in cash. Police said text messages on cellphones belonging to Beamon “indicate he is selling drugs,” according to court documents. Beamon was out on bail in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in connection with narcotic-related offenses at the time of the search, police wrote.
According to court papers, Beamon has four prior felony convictions in Alameda County: in 2000 for carrying a concealed firearm, for which he was sent to prison; in 2001 for possession for sale of cocaine base, which resulted in a sentence of probation; in 2004 for possession of marijuana for sale, which took him back to prison; and in 2007 for possession of a firearm by a felon, which landed him back on probation.
Beamon was released on bail after posting a $435,000 bond. He is scheduled for further pretrial Oct. 7 at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.
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.
Related:
Berkeley medical cannabis commissioner faces fraud and extortion charges (09.23.15)
Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, 8/27-9/2 (09.22.15)
Vandalism, crime cause problems at Allston Way Garage (09.21.15)
Small fire knocks out UC Berkeley’s computers, WiFi (09.19.15)
Berkeley schools on alert after 2 abduction attempts (09.18.15)
BHS Stop Harassing takes campaign to Berkeley council (09.18.15)
Man arrested in Pharmaca robbery linked to second case (09.17.15)
Motorcycle crash in West Berkeley sends 1 to hospital (09.16.15)
Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Aug. 20-26 (09.11.15)
Alcohol at Cal: Authorities report record arrests, tickets (09.10.15)
Berkeley man charged in Oakland murder case (09.10.15)
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