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 anonymity. Don’t assume someone else will alert us — you may be the only one to get in touch. We want to know about issues of concern and rely on readers to help us stay informed.
From Nov. 19-25, there were reports of four robberies, 14 burglaries, 16 assaults or batteries, one weapon-involved call and three sexual assaults, according to CrimeMapping.com. There were also 13 stolen vehicles, 13 disturbances and 25 auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles reported. One sex crime was reported to 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, Nov. 19
There was a commercial burglary at 8 a.m. in the 1100 block of University Avenue.
There were two disturbance calls, at 9:55 a.m. in the 2000 block of Hearst Avenue, and at 7:20 p.m. in the 2400 block of Ashby Avenue.
Police arrested Jamesy Davis, 39, on suspicion of receiving stolen property, a felony, in connection with an auto burglary case Oct. 31 at 1 a.m. in the 1100 block of Sterling Avenue. He is no longer in custody but is scheduled for further pretrial Jan. 27 at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.
There was a home burglary at 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of Ward Street.
Police arrested a husband and wife at 5 p.m., and said the husband had committed firearm and ammunition violations. Police arrested Michael Atchison, 44, in connection with firearm and ammunition possession and several other violations. The woman was arrested in connection with two misdemeanors. Both have since been released and are scheduled for an attorney and plea hearing Friday, Dec. 4, at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland. The arrest location was not posted. (This item was updated Dec. 8 after additional information became available.)
UCPD announced a sexual assault and kidnapping reported to have taken place at 6 p.m. The victim told UCPD she was “abducted from Central Campus and driven to an unknown location where she was sexually assaulted.” Police found the victim after she was released on the morning of Nov. 20, “and are conducting an investigation.” Police said no suspect information was provided. No additional information was released, but authorities ask anyone who may know more about the incident to call the University of California Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Bureau at 510-642-0472 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 510-642-6760 at all other times. Read more on Berkeleyside. (This item first appeared in an earlier blotter for timeliness and due to the seriousness of the incident.)
BART Police officers responded to the North Berkeley station at 9:35 p.m. for a report of a couple arguing over a phone. An anonymous caller said the man punched the woman twice in the face, then fled. Officers detained the man in the west parking lot. A records check showed he had a $55,000 arrest warrant for robbery issued by Contra Costa County and the woman had a no-bail arrest warrant for robbery issued by the Richmond Police. The man was booked at Glenn Dyer Jail on suspicion of domestic battery and the warrant. The woman was booked at Santa Rita Jail on the warrant.
Friday, Nov. 20
There was a second-response call at 12:12 a.m. in the 2300 block of Fulton Street.
There was a home burglary at 12:20 a.m. in the 2900 block of Otis Street.
There was a felony sexual assault at 3 a.m. in the 1500 block of Shattuck Avenue and a misdemeanor sexual assault at 9:21 p.m. at College Avenue and Prince Street.
There were two robberies, at 11:13 a.m. in the 2100 block of Shattuck, and at 3:40 p.m. at Hearst and Grant Street.
There was a disturbance at 3:55 p.m. at Sacramento Street and Berkeley Way.
Someone reportedly brandished a weapon at 11:35 p.m. in the 2100 block of San Pablo Avenue.
Saturday, Nov. 21
There was a second-response call at 12:11 a.m. in the 2400 block of Ridge Road.
Three vehicles were stolen: at 5:30 a.m. in the 900 block of University; at 7 p.m. in the 1600 block of Stuart Street; and at 10 p.m. in the 1200 block of Delaware Street.
There was a commercial burglary at 1 p.m. in the 2500 block of Bancroft Way.
There was a robbery at 10:15 p.m. at Parker Street and Benvenue Avenue.
Sunday, Nov. 22
A vehicle was stolen at 12:30 a.m. in the 2000 block of Fourth Street.
There was a robbery at 1:19 a.m. at College Avenue and Channing Way.
There was a second-response call at 1:33 a.m. in the 2600 block of Benvenue.
There was a commercial burglary at 3:15 a.m. in the 1700 block of Solano Avenue.
There were three home burglaries: at 10 a.m. in the 2200 block of Bonar Street; at 3:20 p.m. in the 1200 block of Dwight Way; and at 8 p.m. in the 2200 block of Prince.
There was a disturbance at 4:01 p.m. in the 1200 block of Francisco Street.
About 30 people were displaced from their apartments after a fire ripped through the Chandler apartment complex at 2449 Dwight Way. The fire was one of two that struck Berkeley within 15 minutes, prompting the Berkeley Fire Department to call in mutual aid from Oakland, Albany, El Cerrito and the Alameda County Fire Department, according to Avery Webb, Berkeley’s interim fire chief. The Dwight Way fire broke out at 5:28 p.m. The second fire, at a two-story commercial building at the old Macaulay Foundry, was called in 12 minutes later at 5:40 p.m. See the original story on Berkeleyside.
There was a misdemeanor sexual assault at 7:30 p.m. in the 2500 block of Telegraph Avenue.
Police arrested two men in connection with identity theft charges at 9:12 p.m. at Ashby Avenue and Ninth Street. The men were identified as James Lee, 35, and Christopher Santos, 43. They remain in custody — Santos with a bail of $105,000 and Lee with a bail of $60,000 — at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. They are scheduled for further pretrial Wednesday, Dec. 9, at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse.
Monday, Nov. 23
There was a commercial burglary at 1:20 a.m. at an unlisted location.
There were three disturbance calls: at 9:06 a.m. in the 2700 block of Durant Avenue; at 1 p.m. in the 500 block of San Luis Road; and at 3:01 p.m. in the 800 block of Carleton Street.
Five vehicles were stolen: at 3 p.m. in the 2500 block of Le Conte Avenue; at 6 p.m. in the 1500 block of Grant Street; at 7 p.m. in the 2400 block of Warring Street; at 8:30 p.m. in the 1100 block of Blake Street; and at 8:35 p.m. at Adeline and Fairview streets.
ADELINE & FAIRVIEW Berkeley Police officers took two women into custody Monday night after they struck a cyclist with their stolen vehicle while fleeing from police after an earlier traffic collision. The driver was five months pregnant, and both women have since been charged and entered not guilty pleas. See the update on Berkeleyside.
Tuesday, Nov. 24
A 20-year-old Oakland man was arraigned in court on charges that he killed 27-year-old Antonio Ramos, a Berkeley High graduate, while he was painting a community mural.
There were two disturbance calls, at 2:30 p.m. in the 2600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and at 6:38 p.m. in the 2800 block of San Pablo.
There was a commercial burglary at 3:45 p.m. in the 1300 block of San Pablo.
Four vehicles were stolen: at 4:50 p.m. in the 100 block of University; at 5:30 p.m. in the 2700 block of Dana Street; at 8 p.m. in the 1900 block of Carleton; and at 10:30 p.m. in the 2800 block of Fulton Street.
There were two home burglaries, at 7 p.m. in the 2200 block of Ward Street, and at 10 p.m. in the 2200 block of Channing Way.
A family of three driving on Interstate 80 was surprised when a bullet struck their vehicle, shattering a window and sending one woman to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. Inside the vehicle were a woman in her 60s, a woman in her 30s and an 8-year-old child. Around 10:15 p.m., a bullet struck the vehicle, shattering one of its side windows. Flying glass injured the woman in her 30s, according to police.
Wednesday, Nov. 25
Police arrested a 41-year-old man in connection with a robbery attempt downtown earlier in the month. The incident took place Nov. 12 at 7:50 a.m. in the 2100 block of Shattuck. Police arrested Jeffrey Cole at 2:36 p.m. Wednesday in connection with that case. He has since been charged with attempted robbery and making criminal threats, and remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $80,000. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Wednesday, Dec. 9, at Wiley Manuel Courthouse.
There were two commercial burglaries, at 4:15 p.m. in the 2000 block of Addison Street, and at 7 p.m. in the 1900 block of University.
There was a disturbance at 7:40 p.m. in the 2100 block of Haste Street.
Other public safety news of note
In October, a Berkeleyside reader tipped us off to recurrent copper wire theft and vandalism at San Pablo Park that affected the lights over the sports fields and resulted in a delay to the start of the city’s recreational softball season. This week, city spokesman Matthai Chakko confirmed that copper wire was indeed stolen at least once earlier this fall. The city replaced that wire with a “non-copper element,” and someone then vandalized that, “perhaps because they were angry that it wasn’t copper.” Chakko said the incidents did delay the start of the softball season and also affected some scheduled tennis matches. He said the city then “put in some security measures to make sure it didn’t happen again.” Since then, there have been no additional issues, he said, and the sports season was able to resume. Chakko said no other Berkeley parks had been impacted, but noted that the theft of copper wire is a regional issue: “It is something that every city has been wrestling with.… It’s still a quick way for people to get a little bit of money. It’s a pittance for how much it costs the city. Some people see it as an opportunity, and that’s really frustrating.”
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, and UCPD crime alerts. 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:
Police make arrest after homeless camp stabbing (12.03.15)
Women charged after Berkeley hit-and-run, cyclist crash (12.03.15)
Homeless man arrested after daytime robbery, attempted rape of UC Berkeley student (12.03.15)
Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Nov. 12-18 (11.30.15)
Fire destroys downtown Berkeley restaurant (11.27.15)
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