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 Dec. 17-23, there were reports of six robberies, 23 burglaries, 11 assaults or batteries, no weapon-involved calls and no sexual assaults, according to CrimeMapping.com. There were also 15 stolen vehicles, seven disturbances and 29 auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles reported. Two stolen vehicles and two burglaries 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, Dec. 17
There were two home burglaries, at 12:11 a.m. in the 2100 block of California Street, and at 10:30 a.m. in the 1900 block of Hearst Avenue.
There were four disturbance calls: at 12:48 a.m. at San Pablo Avenue and Camelia Street; at 5:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of Hopkins Street; at 9 a.m. in the 600 block of Vincente Avenue; and at 9:02 a.m. at Eastshore Highway and Gilman Street.
There was a robbery at 9:27 p.m. in the 1600 block of Ward Street.
Friday, Dec. 18
Two vehicles were stolen, at 1 a.m. in the 2700 block of Woolsey Street, and at 8:57 p.m. at Dana Street and Durant Avenue. Police arrested 30-year-old Bruce Jones in connection with the incident at Dana and Durant. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $130,000 and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Jan. 6 at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse.
There was a home burglary at 9 a.m. in the 1500 block of San Lorenzo Avenue.
There were two commercial burglaries, at 2:45 p.m. in the 2100 block of Oxford Street, and at 7 p.m. in the 1000 block of Harrison Street.
There were three robberies: at 3 p.m. at Sacramento and Russell streets; at 7:15 p.m. in the 2300 block of Ninth Street; and at 8:28 p.m. in the 2600 block of Haste Street.
Authorities were looking for two males described as “middle school-aged” who used a gun to rob another individual in the Haste Street incident. Read more on Berkeleyside.
The BART Police reported that a patron left his backpack unattended on the platform at the downtown Berkeley station at about 4:45 p.m. and returned to find that his MacBook Pro laptop computer and Bose headphones had been stolen.
There was a disturbance call at 5:37 p.m. in the 1700 block of Bancroft Way.
A thief stole a blue 1996 Honda Prelude from the North Berkeley BART parking lot between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., the BART Police reported.
Saturday, Dec. 19
Three vehicles were stolen: at 1:35 a.m. in the 1600 block of Kains Avenue; at 2:11 a.m. in the 2000 block of Ninth; and at 4:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of Chestnut Street.
There were three home burglaries: at 3:30 a.m. in the 2900 block of Channing Way; at 5 p.m. in the 2300 block of Dwight Way; and at 8:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Warring Street.
There was a robbery at 6:30 a.m. in the 2500 block of Dwight.
Police responded to a Berkeley fraternity after receiving a report of a young man found unresponsive there. Police Lt. Andrew Rateaver said police were called to the 2900 block of Channing Way, between Prospect and Warring streets, just before 7:30 a.m., to investigate the death. The man was later identified as former UC Berkeley student Jeffrey Thomas Engler, 22, of San Leandro. Police said alcohol and a fall from a significant height likely contributed to Engler’s death.
There was a commercial burglary at 10:37 a.m. in the 1400 block of Shattuck Avenue.
Sunday, Dec. 20
There was a commercial burglary at midnight in the 600 block of Cedar Street.
There were two home burglaries, at 4 a.m. in the 1500 block of Spruce Street, and at 5:55 a.m. in the 2200 block of Channing Way. Police arrested Ronald Hall, 24, in connection with the incident on Channing. He remains in custody and is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 28.
A woman reported to have jumped in front of a BART train at the downtown Berkeley station at 8:35 a.m. survived but suffered a severe leg injury, according to the BART Police. The train operator told police the woman “appeared to have jumped down onto the track way on her own and laid across the tracks as the train entered the station.” The woman was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold and the station was closed for an hour and a half during the investigation.
Three vehicles were stolen: at 11 a.m. at 10th and Harrison streets; at noon at Dwight and Piedmont Avenue; and at 4:15 p.m. in the 1500 block of Chestnut Street.
Monday, Dec. 21
Three vehicles were stolen: at midnight in the 2100 block of Fourth Street; at 6:30 p.m. in the 900 block of University Avenue; and at 9 p.m. in the 900 block of University.
There was a commercial burglary at 4:30 a.m. in the 1800 block of Fourth.
There were two home burglaries, at 9 a.m. in the 100 block of Alvarado Road, and at noon in the 1300 block of Dwight.
There were two disturbance calls, at 9:20 a.m. in the 2600 block of Regent Street, and at 3 p.m. in the 1500 block of Francisco Street.
There was a felony assault or battery at 3:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of Neilson Street.
Tuesday, Dec. 22
There were three commercial burglaries: at 12:30 a.m. in the 2000 block of San Pablo Avenue; at 4:12 a.m. in the 1300 block of University; and at 1 p.m. in the 1600 block of Shattuck Avenue.
On Fourth Street, four men entered the Apple store and stole several iPhones from their display tables. Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats said as many as 26 phones may have been taken. The suspects fled the store. No arrests have been made, the incident is still under investigation. The men were described as black and in their 20s with thin builds. Their clothing was described as follows: a red- or maroon-colored hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and black shoes; a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and black shoes; a black hooded sweatshirt, black jeans and black and white shoes; and a blue hooded sweatshirt, white jeans and red shoes. (Update, 2:45 p.m. Coats confirmed the number of stolen iPhones was 26.)
Police arrested 47-year-old Ricky Mills in connection with an identity theft call at about 1:50 a.m. at Ashby Avenue and Regent Street. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail and is being held without bail on suspicion of a parole violation. He is scheduled for a procedural hearing Jan. 8 at Wiley Manuel Courthouse.
Two vehicles were stolen, at 8 a.m. in the 2200 block of Seventh Street, and at 7 p.m. in the 1800 block of Curtis Street.
There was a felony assault or battery at 11:30 a.m. in the 2900 block of Sacramento Street. A 36-year-old man from Berkeley got into a physical altercation, said Officer Coats. During the altercation, an assailant stabbed the man causing non-life threatening injuries. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but declined police service and did not provide further details. Police are still looking into the incident.
Police arrested Jack Jansen, 41, at 11:30 a.m. in connection with a sexual assault case from 2012. Jansen remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $200,000 and has been charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. He is scheduled to enter a plea Jan. 6. Berkeleyside has requested more information from authorities.
Wednesday, Dec. 23
Two vehicles were stolen, at 12:01 a.m. at Rose and Spruce streets, and at 7 a.m. in the 2700 block of Ashby Avenue.
There was a home burglary at 7:30 a.m. in the 1400 block of Josephine Street.
There was a robbery at 4:05 p.m. in the 2500 block of College Avenue.
There were four commercial burglaries: at 5:30 p.m. in the 3200 block of Adeline Street; at 10:30 p.m. in the 2900 block of San Pablo Avenue; at 11 p.m. in the 2100 block of Allston Way; and at 11:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of San Pablo Avenue.
BART Police officers responded to the Ashby BART station at 6 p.m. regarding a report that a male suspect had thrown a beer bottle at another male, injuring his lip. Officers searched for the suspect, but could not initially find him. About 40 minutes later, Berkeley officers were called to the corner of Russell and Grant streets regarding a male “experiencing mental health issues (i.e., hearing voices, wishing to be killed by police); and determined he matched the description of the station’s assault suspect.” BART officers took the victim and a witness to the suspect’s location for in-field identification, and determined him to have been the assault suspect. He was taken to the county’s mental health facility and placed under a psychiatric hold, along with a police hold. According to the BART Police, “Once the suspect is cleared by mental health care professionals, he will be booked into the county jail” on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
BART and Berkeley police officers responded to the Ashby BART station at 9 p.m. for a report of a man and woman fighting: “The physical struggle escalated and the female brandished a pair of scissors. The male brandished a knife and stabbed the female in the head, causing a scalp laceration. A review of captured video footage showed the male appeared to have acted in self-defense.” Authorities identified both individuals and planned to submit the case to the Alameda County district attorney’s office for possible charges, the BART Police reported.
Other recent incidents
On Dec. 15, police arrested a 23-year-old Berkeley man in connection with a burglary case from November involving his roommate, said Officer Coats. A woman walking in the 3200 block of California Street, near Fairview Street, saw the Dec. 15 arrest, and told Berkeleyside the man was taken out of a house in handcuffs wearing only pajama bottoms. Coats said the initial burglary took place Nov. 10 at about 5:55 p.m. in the 3200 block of California: “Several items had been stolen from the victim’s room including a television, laptop and PS4. Officers learned that the victim’s roommate … had stolen the items and sold them at a pawn shop in Oakland.” Coats said police arrested Michael Reidenbaugh on suspicion of burglary and theft. He appears to still be in custody at Santa Rita Jail and has been sentenced in the case.
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:
Update: More than 6,300 in Berkeley lose power (01.04.15)
Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Dec. 10-16 (12.31.15)
2015: The year in Berkeley crime, public safety (12.31.15)
The biggest Berkeley stories of 2015 (12.30.15)
Man killed in Berkeley house fire (12.28.15)
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