Boyfriend charged with attempted murder after double shooting in Berkeley

Police watch over the scene where two people were shot on Tremont Street, near Prince Street, in Berkeley, on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Photo: David Yee ©2016 — Police watched over the scene where two people were shot on Tremont Street, near Prince Street on March 16. Photo: David Yee

A San Jose man has been charged with shooting his girlfriend in the head and opening fire on her male friend as the two sat in a car in South Berkeley in mid-March.

Anthony Burton, 44, was charged Thursday by the Alameda County district attorney’s office with six felonies: two counts of attempted murder; corporal injury to a relationship partner; assault with a semiautomatic weapon; shooting at an occupied motor vehicle; and possession of a firearm by a felon.

According to court papers, Burton shot his girlfriend in the head, and her male friend “about five times in the face and body,” as they sat in a car on Tremont Street near Prince Street, not far from the Ashby BART station.

Both victims survived but are still recovering, police said last week. Police have not released many details about the case. According to court papers, investigators identified Burton as the shooter, and noted that he was in a dating relationship with the female victim.

Berkeley detectives sought an arrest warrant from an Alameda County Superior Court judge. A Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy picked up Burton last week after linking him to that warrant when his car sparked an alert on an automated license plate reader.

The deputy found Burton sleeping in his Mazda in a Denny’s parking lot, police said last week.

According to court papers, Burton was not allowed to own guns because of a 1992 conviction in Santa Clara County for assault with a deadly weapon. He was sent to prison after that conviction.

A new conviction would count as a second strike.

Burton had been arrested previously in San Jose on suspicion of battery, domestic violence and threats of violence, according to LocalCrimeNews.com.

He is scheduled to enter a plea Thursday at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.

Burton is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail, according to online records from the Alameda County sheriff’s department.

A car where two people were shot sits on Tremont Street near Prince Street, in Berkeley, on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Photo: David Yee — The window of this car was shattered during a shooting in March that sent two people to the hospital. Photo: David Yee

Police responded to South Berkeley, near Tremont and Prince streets, on March 16 for a report of a shooting with a male victim still in the area shortly after 1 a.m. At 1:20 a.m., officers were called to a local hospital for a report of a woman who had been dropped off there with gunshot wounds.

Originally the call came in at 1:05 a.m. with callers reporting 4-5 gunshots near the 2000 block of Prince. One caller told police a possible victim was in a doorway on a porch in that block.

Both victims were in critical condition after the shooting but expected to survive. BPD said last week the woman’s injuries left her with permanent disabilities and the man’s likely left him with longterm medical complications.

There have been at least four shootings with victims in Berkeley in 2016, and several others that involved either property damage or reports of gunfire.

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Emilie Raguso