A 40-year-old Berkeley man remains in custody after police say he shoved a woman against a railing, and said obscene things to her before she was able to escape him, authorities said.
The incident happened Saturday in the 1400 block of Shattuck Avenue in North Berkeley.
The woman, a 47-year-old from Richmond, was approached by the stranger just before 4 p.m., said Officer Jennifer Coats, a Berkeley Police Department spokeswoman.
“The suspect said some suggestive and obscene things to the victim. The suspect then pushed the victim against a railing,” said Coats. “The victim pushed the suspect back, who then fled on foot.”
Police found the man nearby in the 1500 block of Henry Street, said Coats, and the woman reported no physical injuries.
Police arrested Nao Myers on suspicion of assault with intent to commit a sex crime, which is a felony, and probation violation.
According to Alameda County sheriff’s office records online, Myers remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
He was charged with sexual battery by restraint, a misdemeanor, and is being held on $5,000 bail.
Myers, who works in insurance according to sheriff’s office records online, is set for a pretrial hearing Monday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
He entered a not guilty plea Tuesday, according to Alameda County court records online.
In 2016, according to court records, Myers was arrested in a felony assault case, likely to cause great bodily injury, but took a plea deal that reduced the charge to a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 180 days in county jail and three years of probation.
