A 17-year-old Berkeley boy and an 18-year-old from Oakland were arrested by police early Thursday after they tried to flee from a robbery not far from the Berkeley Police Department, authorities report.
Berkeley Police Sgt. Andrew Frankel, department spokesman, said dispatchers got a report at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday about a robbery that had just taken place at McKinley Street and Allston Way. The entrance to the Berkeley Police Department is around the corner on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and the department’s parking lot opens onto Allston near McKinley.
The victim told police “he was attacked by two suspects who took his property after they knocked him to the ground,” Frankel said.
According to scanner audio reviewed by Berkeleyside, the victim had bruises and cuts on his face, a black eye and a bloody nose, but said he did not need ambulance transport. His backpack with his computer, as well as his wallet and phone, were taken.
Frankel said descriptions of the robbers were broadcast over the radio as officers answered the call.
As part of the response, officers went into the downtown Berkeley BART station where they stopped two people who matched the suspect descriptions, Frankel said. Officers also recovered the victim’s property, he said.
Frankel identified the 18-year-old who was arrested as Kelin Robinson. Robinson was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and arrested on suspicion of robbery and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury. The 17-year-old was taken to Alameda County Juvenile Hall in San Leandro on suspicion of the same crimes.
Robinson is being held with a bail of $160,000 and is scheduled for arraignment Monday at the Gale-Schenone Hall of Justice in Pleasanton, according to Alameda County sheriff’s office records online.
No further information was available about the 17-year-old due to privacy laws protecting minors.
Other robberies reported this week
Earlier this week, Tuesday, Berkeley police also arrested three juveniles after a robbery on Ashby Avenue near Ellis Street shortly after 7 p.m., Frankel said.
The three juveniles pushed a pedestrian to the ground and stole his property, as first reported by the Daily Californian. Frankel said an officer spotted the trio at Russell Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way and arrested them. The officer recovered the victim’s property and the three teens were taken to juvenile hall.
And the University of California Police Department is looking for a middle-aged black man who was wearing a navy cap with a red brim, a blue plaid flannel shirt over a white T-shirt, white tennis shoes and possibly dark jeans.
UCPD said he stole a number of cellphones and wallets Wednesday around 6 p.m. from Cal’s Recreational Sports Facility, then told a staff member there who confronted him that he had a gun. Fearing for her safety, UCPD said, she let him leave the building.
The man was last seen heading westbound on Bancroft Way and police were unable to find him.
UCPD said in its online log that the loss “included 8 Apple iPhones, 1 Android phone, 2 wallets, and 2 cal-1 cards” with a total value of $3,377. Ten victims were listed.
The log also included a more detailed description of the man: “black, middle-age, [5 feet 8], heavy, dark complexion, bald, mustache, wearing a navy blue Atlanta Braves hat, blue plaid long-sleeve shirt over a white tee, dark blue jeans, bright white tennis shoes, sunglasses.”
