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. 24-30, there were reports of six robberies, 14 burglaries, 10 assaults or batteries, five weapon-involved calls and three sexual assaults, according to CrimeMapping.com. There were also eight stolen vehicles, 24 disturbances and 20 auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles reported. Two assaults, two burglaries, a robbery and a sex crime were reported by the University of California Police Department (UCPD). 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. 24
UCPD responded to a sexual assault on campus just before 1 a.m. A 28-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by two men, one of whom she knew from a prior encounter. Police said the men were responsible for two counts of rape, kidnapping, sodomy and attempted oral copulation. Read more in last week’s crime blotter, where this item first appeared for timeliness.
There were three disturbances: at 6:50 a.m. in the 2300 block of Telegraph Avenue; at 7 a.m. in the 2100 block of Carleton Street; and at 9 a.m. in the 2600 block of Ninth Street.
There was a robbery at 7:50 a.m. in the 2300 block of San Pablo Avenue.
Two bikes were stolen from the North Berkeley BART station, according to the BART Police. A thief stole a blue Public C7 7-speed women’s bike from the racks between Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. and about 12:30 p.m. Thursday. The bike and the lock were taken. Also stolen was a light blue Rawley brand men’s mountain bike, valued at $3,500, while it was secured with a Kryptonite lock in the free area of the station between 7:45 a.m. and 3:40 p.m.
There was a home burglary at 4:45 p.m. in the 2300 block of Telegraph Avenue.
There was a second-response call at 10:27 p.m. in the 2700 block of Channing Way.
Friday, Sept. 25
There were two disturbance calls, at 9:10 a.m. in the 2300 block of McKinley Avenue, and at 10:30 a.m. in the 2100 block of Shattuck Avenue. Police arrested Leonard Woods, 56, on suspicion of making criminal threats, a felony, in connection with the incident on Shattuck. He is no longer in custody and is next set to appear in court in connection with the case in 2018.
The BART Police arrested Sonia Hernandez, 37, on suspicion of burglary. She is no longer in custody and is set for a hearing to determine restitution Oct. 26.
There was an arson call at 4:39 p.m. in the 2000 block of Shattuck.
There was a home burglary at 7:30 p.m. in the 2600 block of Regent Street.
There were two calls involving a gun or other weapon, at 9:06 p.m. at Prince and Sacramento streets, and at 10:44 p.m. at Ward and California streets.
There was a robbery at 10:50 p.m. in the 1200 block of Hopkins Street.
The University of California Police Department announced the arrest of a former Cal employee they say recorded more than 100 people, including two minors, in a restroom earlier this year. Read more.
Saturday, Sept. 26
There were five disturbance calls: at 12:39 a.m. in the 2900 block of Dohr Street; at 6:30 a.m. at Milvia Street and Durant Avenue; at 7 a.m. in the 2100 block of Allston Way; at 10 a.m. at McGee Avenue and Rose Street; and at 11:42 p.m. in the 2400 block of Prospect Street.
There was a second-response call at 1:04 a.m. in the 2500 block of Dwight Way.
There was a call involving a gun or other weapon at 5:54 a.m. at Milvia Street and Durant Avenue.
A military veteran reportedly having a mental health crisis climbed on top of the metal bear sculpture at the downtown Berkeley BART plaza Saturday and refused to come down for many hours. Read more on Berkeleyside.
Someone reportedly brandished a weapon at 1:37 p.m. in the 1900 block of Oregon Street.
There was a home burglary at 3:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of Chestnut Street.
There was a robbery at 5:56 p.m. in the 2400 block of Durant Avenue.
UCPD received a report about an assault at 6:53 p.m. in the People’s Park.
Sunday, Sept. 27
There was a home burglary at 1:23 a.m. in the 2300 block of Grant Street.
There was a felony assault or battery at 1:50 a.m. at Shattuck Avenue and Kittredge Street.
There as a disturbance at 3 a.m. in the 2900 block of Linden Avenue.
UCPD received a report about an assault at 11:18 a.m. on the Big C Trail.
A live oak tree that fell onto a power line on Golf Course Road in Tilden prompted a power outage across the park and caused a crash that sent a cyclist to the hospital.
A victim reported to the BART Police that a thief smashed the window of his or her locked 2006 Toyota Solara and stole a bag containing car keys and credit cards. The car had been parked in the lot at the Ashby BART station at noon, and burglarized prior to 2:30 p.m.
There were two misdemeanor sexual assaults, at 5 p.m. in the 2400 block of Warring Street, and at 5:35 p.m. in the 2300 block of Channing Way.
A vehicle was stolen at 11 p.m. in the 1800 block of Seventh Street.
There was a call involving a gun at 11:19 p.m. in the 1900 block of Sixth Street. Police arrested Pao Saechao, 40, on suspicion of numerous firearm-related violations. He remains in custody with a bail of $165,000. His next court appearance was not listed.
Four students were threatened with, and then assaulted with, a gun in an attempted robbery at about 11:25 p.m. at the Signpost 21 turnout on Grizzly Peak Boulevard in the Berkeley Hills. Read more on Berkeleyside.
Monday, Sept. 28
There were six disturbance calls: at 1 a.m. at University Avenue and Grant Street; at 10 a.m. in the 800 block of Contra Costa Avenue; at 10:45 a.m. in the 1400 block of Fairview Street; at 10:50 a.m. in the 3200 block of Ellis Street; at 4:26 p.m. in the 2800 block of Fulton Street; and at 10:58 p.m. in the 2300 block of Bancroft Way. Police arrested Vincent Vaquilar, 24, on suspicion of making criminal threats, a felony, and two misdemeanors. He remains in custody with a bail of $45,000 and is set for a jury trial Oct. 23.
There were five home burglaries: at 8 a.m. in the 1500 block of Keoncrest Drive; at 9 a.m. in the 2100 block of Stuart Street; at 10:20 a.m. in the 1500 block of Buena Avenue; at 1 p.m. in the 1400 block of Parker Street; and at 10 p.m. in the 1700 block of Delaware Street.
UCPD received reports of two burglaries, at 7:36 a.m. at Minor Hall, and at 3:06 p.m. at the Haas School of Business.
Ashby BART station was closed at around 12:30 p.m. due to what BART described as a “major medical emergency.” A person was reported as being under the train at 12:24 p.m., according to a message left by BART spokesman Jim Allison on its media hotline, and later was confirmed as a fatality. Officer said two witnesses said the subject intentionally jumped in front of the train. There was no evidence of foul play.
After denying his requests for a new trial and the replacement of his attorney, an Alameda County Superior Court judge sentenced Jahton Green to more than 21 years in prison in connection with two robberies and assaults in Berkeley on the same day in 2013.
There was a robbery at 11 p.m. in the 2000 block of Delaware.
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Three vehicles were stolen: at 12:15 a.m. in the 2600 block of Dana Street; at 4:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Allston Way; and at 9:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Allston.
There were two commercial burglaries, at 3:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of Prince Street, and at 7:15 p.m. in the 3000 block of Claremont Avenue. Police arrested Jacob Felipe, 18, in connection with the incident on Prince. He is no longer in custody, and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in November.
There was a home burglary at 5:40 a.m. in the 2600 block of Hillegass Avenue.
There were three disturbance calls: at 8:40 a.m. in the 2400 block of Dwight Way; at 9 a.m. in the 1900 block of Center Street; and at 9:36 a.m. at Tyler and California streets.
There was a robbery at 6 p.m. in the 2100 block of Fourth Street.
There was a felony sexual assault at 6:38 p.m. in the 2200 block of Hearst Avenue.
Wednesday, Sept. 30
Four vehicles were stolen: at 1 a.m. in the 1200 block of Oregon Street; at 9 a.m. in the 1200 block of Haskell Street; at 7 p.m. in the 2100 block of Durant Avenue; and at 7 p.m. in the 1800 block of San Pablo Avenue.
There was a commercial burglary at 6:30 a.m. in the 1500 block of Le Roy Avenue.
There were two disturbance calls, at 8:09 a.m. in the 1200 block of University Avenue, and at 5 p.m. in the 2200 block of Russell Street.
Via the BART Police: A thief smashed the front window of a silver 2003 Ford Focus and took a stereo while it was parked at the North Berkeley BART station between 9:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. BART officers responded at 6:40 p.m. to two other auto burglaries, which took place at the Ashby station: “A victim reported their white 1999 Toyota Corolla was broken into while parked in the northwest lot of the Ashby Station, between 0810-1830 hours. The rear passenger window was smashed and the stereo ($250) was removed. While officers were on scene, a second victim reported their gold 2004 Honda civic was broken into while parked at the station, between 0800-1830 hours. The passenger window was smashed but no loss was reported. Both victims declined to have their vehicles processed for fingerprints.”
There was a home burglary at 6 p.m. in the 600 block of San Luis Road.
There was a robbery at 11 p.m. in the 3100 block of Ellis Street.
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:
Op-ed: Berkeley police do not tolerate discrimination (10.13.15)
House fire on Ellis Street sends two residents to hospital (10.13.15)
DA hopes to find cause of water intrusion that led to Berkeley balcony collapse (10.12.15)
Berkeley Police take a ‘head in the sand’ approach to racial profiling (10.12.15)
Details emerge about fatal Berkeley shooting (10.09.15)
Suspicious bag in downtown Berkeley proved safe (10.09.15)
Police: No gun found at Berkeley High; lockdown lifted (10.08.15)
Berkeley police chief says Tasers would help his officers (10.07.15)
Police make arrest in fatal shooting of 24-year-old (10.07.15)
Shooting on Russell in Berkeley sends 1 to hospital (10.06.15)
Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Sept. 17-23 (10.06.15)
As drought raises fire risk, Berkeley focuses on safety (10.05.15)
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