Police arrested an 18-year-old who grabbed a cellphone from another person at the downtown Berkeley BART station, then punched him in the face before fleeing on a train after a bystander was able to take back the phone.
The robbery attempt happened Sunday just before 1:10 p.m., according to the BART Police.
The victim told police a man had grabbed his phone from his hand, and punched him in the face as he took the phone.
“A male bystander grabbed the phone from the suspect, as the suspect was punching the victim, and returned the phone to the victim,” according to the BART Police. “The suspect fled on a train, which was intercepted by an officer at the Ashby Station.”
The officer detained someone on that train who matched the suspect’s description, and the victim identified that person as the one responsible for the robbery attempt.
He was identified as 18-year-old Jordan Perez. Police arrested him on suspicion of attempted robbery and took him to the Glenn Dyer Jail in Oakland.
Perez is being held with a bail of $100,000 and was scheduled for arraignment Tuesday at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland, according to online records from the Alameda County sheriff’s department.
According to the BART Police, the victim declined medical attention.
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