Berkeleyside blotter: Crime in Berkeley, Feb. 4-10

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. — 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.

This overview of recent crime in Berkeley is based on reports to the Berkeley Police unless otherwise noted. Share photos, videos and tips, about breaking news or neighborhood safety issues, via email at crime@berkeleyside.com or on Facebook or Twitter. Don’t assume someone else will alert us. We rely on readers to help us stay informed.

From Feb. 4-10, there were reports of four robberies, 17 burglaries, 15 assaults or batteries, two weapon-involved calls and one sexual assault, according to CrimeMapping.com. There were also 11 stolen vehicles, 14 disturbances and 39 auto break-ins or thefts from vehicles reported. No significant crimes were reported to the University of California Police Department (UCPD). The following items represent a sampling of calls; incidents that took place during a range of time are listed unless otherwise noted by the beginning of that time period. Arrested individuals listed in this blotter are presumed innocent.

Thursday, Feb. 4

There were four home burglaries: at 1:36 a.m. in the 1800 block of 10th Street; at 11:30 a.m. in the 1800 block of Curtis Street; at 7:55 p.m. in the 2000 block of Kittredge Street; and at 11:30 p.m. in the 2500 block of Durant Avenue.

Police arrested Jose Hermosillo, 19, on suspicion of burglary, stalking and stalking while there is a temporary restraining order in connection with the incident on 10th. He remains in custody with a bail of $200,000 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing, where a judge will decide if there is enough evidence for the case to move forward to trial, Wednesday.

Someone reportedly brandished a weapon at 2:03 a.m. at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street.

There were two commercial burglaries, at 4:11 a.m. in the 1200 block of San Pablo Avenue, and at 3:30 p.m. in the 800 block of University Avenue. Regarding the first incident, suspects drove a truck into the Pic-n-Pac Liquor store at 1296 San Pablo Ave., at Gilman Street, and stole the lion’s share of the store’s inventory, according to authorities. See surveillance footage and learn more about the caper.

Three vehicles were stolen: at 8:30 a.m. in the 1600 block of Oregon Street; at 6 p.m. in the 2600 block of Parker Street; and at 9:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Roosevelt Avenue.

There were two disturbance calls, at 9 a.m. in the 1900 block of Allston Way, and at 11:05 a.m. in the 2000 block of Kittredge Street.

A bit of levity from the police scanner Feb. 4. Source: BPD — A bit of levity from the police scanner Feb. 4: Worthy of the New Yorker’s “Constabulary Notes From All Over”? Source: BPD

Friday, Feb. 5

There were two disturbance calls, at 1:15 a.m. in the 900 block of Murray Street, and at 8 a.m. in the 2900 block of Ninth Street.

There was a robbery at 2 a.m. at Shattuck and Hearst avenues.

Three vehicles were stolen: at 4:15 a.m. in the 2400 block of Browning Street; at 3 p.m. in the 6400 block of Mystic Street; and at 4 p.m. in the 3000 block of College Avenue.

There was an arson call at 3:45 p.m. in the 1200 block of University Avenue.

There was a call involving a gun or other weapon at 9:05 p.m. at Mabel and Burnett streets.

There was a second-response call at 10:48 p.m. in the 2600 block of Parker Street.

There were 17 burglaries (shown in black) reported over this period, via CrimeMapping.com. The prior week there were 18. There was also four robberies (in blue), following five the prior week. Click the map for a list. — There were 17 burglaries (shown in black) reported over this period, via CrimeMapping.com. The prior week there were 18. There were also four robberies (in blue), following five the prior week. Click the map for a list.

Saturday, Feb. 6

There was a disturbance call at 12:15 a.m. in the 2400 block of Warring Street.

There were five home burglaries: at 8 a.m. in the 1300 block of Ordway Street; at 9:30 a.m. in the 2300 block of Howe Street; at noon in the 1400 block of Parker Street; at 12:51 p.m. in the 2200 block of Eighth Street; and at 8 p.m. in the 2300 block of Ellsworth Street.

There were two robberies, at 3 p.m. in the 2300 block of Shattuck Avenue, and at 10:30 p.m. at Center Street and Shattuck.

There was a second-response call at 11:49 p.m. in the 2500 block of Benvenue Avenue.

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

Sunday, Feb. 7

There was a second-response call at 12:24 a.m. in the 2000 block of Carleton Street.

A vehicle was stolen at 8 a.m. in the 100 block of Seawall Drive.

Via the BART Police: A victim reported the theft of a teal green 1992 Honda Civic while it was parked at the North Berkeley BART station between 2 p.m. Feb. 5 and 10:45 a.m. Sunday.

Police arrested Marquis Jones, 23, in San Francisco at 11 a.m. on a warrant for a 2015 robbery in Berkeley. He remains in custody with a bail of $50,000 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday. The robbery took place Nov. 6 at 2:15 a.m. at University Avenue and Ninth Street.

There was a misdemeanor sexual assault at 11:32 a.m. in the 1900 block of Sixth Street.

There was a felony assault or battery at 5:20 p.m. in the 2300 block of Telegraph Avenue.

The train crossing at Gilman Street was closed Sunday night after a number of cars passing over the tracks ended up with punctured tires, according to authorities. It remained closed to cars Monday morning. Read more on Berkeleyside.

Monday, Feb. 8

There were two disturbance calls, at 12:45 a.m. in the 2200 block of Grant Street, and at 1:45 p.m. at Milvia Street and Bancroft Way. On Grant Street, police arrested Maurice Hastings, 59, on suspicion of felony stalking. He is being held with a bail of $5,000 and is scheduled for trial March 4.

There were three home burglaries: at 8:30 a.m. in the 1600 block of Lincoln Street; at 2:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Eunice Street; and at 8:45 p.m. in the 1800 block of Marin Avenue.

A man died after being hit by a southbound Amtrak train near Bancroft Way and Second Street in West Berkeley. He was declared dead at the scene by fire personnel, said Donna McCracken, Berkeley’s interim deputy fire chief. The incident is under investigation by railroad authorities. As of last week, the coroner’s office had not yet found the man’s next of kin, so his name had not been released. Read more on Berkeleyside.

A vehicle was stolen at 7 p.m. in the 1500 block of Alcatraz Avenue.

There were 39 thefts or burglaries from vehicles, via CrimeMapping. There were 26 the prior week. There were also 11 vehicles stolen (in purple). Click the map for a list of incidents.

Tuesday, Feb. 9

There were two home burglaries, at 5:18 a.m. in the 1600 block of Hopkins Street, and at 9 a.m. in the 900 block of Middlefield Road. Police arrested David Molina, 22, on suspicion of burglary, vehicle theft and other offenses on Hopkins. He remains in custody with a bail of $55,000 and is set for a pretrial hearing Thursday.

There was a felony assault or battery at 9:15 a.m. at Cedar and Curtis streets. Police arrested 20-year-old Anthoney Yinkaprince Dasilva on suspicion of throwing something at a vehicle with the intent to cause serious bodily harm, and vandalism, both felonies. He remains in custody with a bail of $30,000 and was scheduled for a pretrial hearing Tuesday.

There were three disturbance calls: at 10 a.m. in the 2000 block of Center Street; at 11 a.m. in the 2500 block of Mathews Street; and at 10 p.m. in the 1300 block of Delaware Street. On Delaware, police arrested Michael Gesregan, 54, on suspicion of making criminal threats, which is a felony. He is no longer in custody, but is scheduled for a pretrial hearing March 16.

There's a house fire on Haste in Berkeley between Shattuck and Ellsworth. Photo: mburkhartsmeyer — The fire on Haste. Photo: Michael Burkhartsmeyer

Authorities responded to a house fire on Haste Street in Berkeley, between Fulton Street and Shattuck Avenue. Interim Deputy Fire Chief McCracken said the fire, in the 2100 block of Haste, was upgraded to a second-alarm assignment after the initial dispatch at 11:15 a.m. The home appeared to be unoccupied at the time of the fire, which was declared under control at 12:20 p.m. No injuries to firefighters or civilians were reported. McCracken said the fire may have caused about $100,000 in damage, according to very preliminary estimates. Some of the animals at the veterinary hospital next door were evacuated due to the proximity of the fire. Read more on Berkeleyside.

A vehicle was stolen at 1:15 p.m. in the 1400 block of San Pablo Avenue.

There was a commercial burglary at 3 p.m. in the 600 block of Cedar.

Wednesday, Feb. 10

There were two felony assaults or batteries, at 9 a.m. at Fourth Street and University Avenue, and at 4 p.m. in the 2400 block of Durant.

After a car chase through Oakland and Berkeley on Wednesday morning, authorities arrested an armed man near Ohlone Park, according to authorities. Authorities identified the man as Darrell Clarence Blackmon, 37, of Berkeley. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail, according to online records from the Alameda County sheriff’s department. His bail was not listed. Read more on Berkeleyside. Police said the gun associated with this case is still missing.

There was a robbery at 2 p.m. in the 1000 block of University.

Two vehicles were stolen, at 3 p.m. in the 1400 block of California Street, and at 6 p.m. in the 200 block of University.

There was a disturbance at 4:35 p.m. in the 2000 block of Hearst Avenue.

Police arrested 48-year-old James Thomas — also known as Glen Scott — on suspicion of numerous drug-related offenses, many of which were felonies, including marijuana sales, and manufacturing and transporting a controlled substance. He remains in custody with a bail of $265,000. He is scheduled for an attorney and plea hearing Thursday. The location of his arrest was not listed.

Other recent incidents

On Feb. 17, the Berkeley Police Department distributed a “crime alert” through its area coordinators to let residents know to be on alert due to residential burglaries, which “continue to be a problem throughout the city, especially in areas north of University Avenue. Most burglaries are occurring during the day when homeowners are at work or running errands.” BPD also shared a list of simple crime prevention tips. Find your area coordinator.

Area 1 coordinator Officer Brandon Smith added this note about vehicle burglaries: “I also want to remind everyone that thefts from vehicles and vehicle break-ins are another area where we all are vulnerable to criminal activity. As a reminder please do not leave anything…I stress…anything visible on the interior of your vehicles. Criminals have been known to break into a vehicle when seeing something as simple as a bag or a jacket they thought was of value or was covering something of value. The short story is to keep your things out of sight and doors closed and locked.”

SEXUAL ASSUALT AT UCB UCPD reported the following on Monday, Feb. 22: “A sexual assault occurred at a UC Berkeley fraternity. The victim attended a party at a fraternity house on Friday, February 19^th. The sexual assault took place between 12:00 and 12:45 a.m. in a room at the fraternity. The Berkeley Police Department is investigating this crime.” Police did not release a suspect description. Authorities ask anyone with information about the crime to call the Berkeley Police Department Special Victims Unit at 510-981-5735. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Bay Area Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

UCPD offered the following safety tips:

Rape and sexual assault are never the fault of the survivor. It is the behavior of the perpetrator that is wrong.
80% of sexual assault and rapes are perpetrated by someone known to the survivor, and on college campuses 90% of survivors know their attacker.
Get verbal consent from your partner. Consent at its most basic level means everyone involved wants to participate.
Consent Cannot be Given:
- If someone is under the influence of alcohol or other drugs
- If someone is passed out, unconscious, asleep or coming in or out of consciousness
- Under direct or implied threat of bodily harm or other forms of coercion
- If any party is under 18 years of age
- If someone has a physical, developmental or mental disability that impairs their ability to understand the act
Don’t be afraid to intervene if you see a friend leaving a party with a stranger.

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.

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Emilie Raguso