A 23-year-old woman police say hurled an apple at an officer and then used a “large German Shepherd” to evade capture has been charged with two misdemeanors in connection with demonstrations in Berkeley on Sunday.
Yesania Mendez — whose first name also was spelled “Yesenia” by officials — was charged Tuesday with resisting arrest and assault upon a custodial officer, according to the Alameda County district attorney’s office.
According to court papers, a Berkeley police officer was on duty, in uniform, when Mendez “threw an apple at me at a high velocity, while wearing a purple bandana as a mask to conceal her face. She threw the apple so hard that it exploded when it made contact with the ground.”
Police tried to take the young woman into custody and, according to authorities, she refused to comply. She “ran from and actively resisted police” as they tried to detain her.
Police say “Mendez used her large German Shepherd and the crowd as a defense mechanism to evade arrest.”
After police managed to put her in handcuffs, she “escaped her handcuffs and ran from police” while being taken to jail for processing. Officers caught up with her a short time later and booked her into Santa Rita Jail.
Mendez initially was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and unlawfully wearing a mask.
A woman screams in Berkeley yesterday as police pin her service dog to the ground. As they pull her away, she begs them not to kill it. pic.twitter.com/weP6qrUF9j
— Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) August 28, 2017
Woman arrested with her service dog at #mlkpark in #Berkeley. Service dogs are allowed but masks are not #BerkeleyProtest #bpd pic.twitter.com/VCoi5M9Pvs
— YR Media (@itsYRmedia) August 27, 2017
Police said 12 other people also were arrested: Sean Dougan, 47, of Portland, Oregon — battery, vandalism, incitement to riot; Rachel Moore, 40, of Oakland — battery causing serious bodily injury; Emily Gillespie, 24, of Berkeley — battery; Joshua Phillips, 36, of Oakland — resisting arrest and participation in a riot; Sean Hines, 20, of Santa Rosa — resisting arrest and violating security rules for city buildings; Kristopher Wyrick, 39, of Alpine — unlawfully fighting or challenging someone to a fight in a public place; James Dominic, 23, of Oakland — conspiracy to commit a crime; and Harlan Pankau, 38, of Jamul (San Diego) — public intoxication. Four others were arrested solely on municipal code violations related to rules for parks and city building: Levi Smith, 32, of Sparks, Nevada; Brittany Moorman, 26, of Oakland; Mark Misohink, 23, of Berkeley; and Seth Vasquez, 25, of Berkeley.
Berkeleyside has requested further information about the other individuals from the Alameda County district attorney’s office.
