Image: Google maps

Police arrested a man, woman and teenage boy with a gun Friday night after an armed robbery in North Berkeley, authorities say.

The robbery took place at 7:30 p.m. at Virginia and Chestnut streets, said Lt. Joe Okies of the Berkeley Police Department.

The robbers drove off after the crime, according to a scanner recording reviewed by Berkeleyside. A dispatcher broadcast a description of their vehicle, and a Berkeley police officer spotted it a few blocks west at Virginia and Fourth streets, Okies said.

“Officers initiated a high-risk traffic stop and safely detained the three occupants,” he said. Police found a gun and other evidence from the robbery in the vehicle, according to police.

The adults were identified as Larry Belle III, 21, and Nicole Smith, 23. They were arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed loaded firearm in a vehicle, conspiracy and robbery. Their cities of residence were not available.

Smith is being held on $380,000 bail, and Belle on bail of $305,000. The pair is scheduled for arraignment Monday at 9 a.m. at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland, according to online records from the Alameda County sheriff’s office.

“Detectives are reviewing other cases to determine if these suspects are tied to any other robberies in the area,” Okies said.

Smith and Belle were already at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin as of Sunday.

No further information was available about the boy who was arrested due to privacy laws that protect minors.

Emilie Raguso (former senior editor, news) joined Berkeleyside in 2012 and covered politics, public safety and development until her departure in 2022. In 2017, Emilie was named Journalist of the Year...