Two Oakland men who robbed a woman of her laptop Saturday at a Berkeley Starbucks were caught with the help of alert citizens, police report.
Saturday afternoon, at about 4:20 p.m., the Berkeley Police Department got several calls from witnesses “who saw a female patron struggling over her laptop” with a man inside the Starbucks at 3000 Telegraph Avenue, according to a statement released by police Monday.
“The two struggled and the suspect was able to pull the laptop from the victim’s hands,” police said. But a community member blocked the door so the man couldn’t leave.
When the robber brandished a pistol, however, the community member allowed him to exit.
“Despite the threat of a gun, the witness who blocked the door followed the suspect outside and watched as he fled eastbound on Ashby Avenue in a waiting vehicle,” said police.
The individuals who called police gave a description of the robbers, the getaway car and the direction it was last seen driving.
Officers who responded to the scene spotted the car and stopped it near Ashby Avenue and Domingo Street.
The passenger in the car was identified to police as the person responsible for the robbery, and officers found the stolen laptop in the vehicle along with a pellet gun.
The men who were arrested were identified as Delamontae Stewart, 22, and Zachery Haliburton, 19, who are both Oakland residents. They were taken to Berkeley Jail.
Haliburton is being held on $70,000 bail on suspicion of robbery and receiving stolen property. Stewart’s bail is set at $105,000 and was arrested on suspicion of exhibiting a weapon and being in possession of ammunition, in addition to the other two violations.
They are scheduled for arraignment Tuesday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.
“The Berkeley Police Department is grateful for the actions of those willing citizens who got involved and helped us to close this case,” police said in a prepared statement.
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