An 18-year-old Cal student was punched in the face while trying to keep a pair of robbers from taking her laptop Tuesday, UC Berkeley authorities report.
The young woman was sitting near Peet’s Coffee, 2415 Bowditch St., at the Crossroads Student Dining Hall at 4 p.m. when two young men approached her and her friends as she worked on her gold-colored MacBook laptop.
“One of the suspects grabbed the victim’s laptop,” said UCPD in a prepared statement. “The victim fought back and was punched in the face by the suspect. The suspect fled with her laptop.”
The other young man tried to take two other laptops, but failed. Police said the pair was last seen fleeing south on Bowditch toward People’s Park. UCPD and BPD searched but could not find them.
Police said the young woman received minor injuries and was treated at a local emergency room. The laptop had an estimated value of $1,300.
Police described both suspects as black male teenagers. One appeared 17-18 years old, 5 foot 8 and 180 pounds, with a dark complexion and short black hair, wearing a navy sweatshirt with a circular logo and dark pants. The other appeared 15-16 years old with a slim build, 5 foot 10 and 130 pounds, with a dark complexion, short black hair, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans and a gold chain necklace.
There have been more than 50 robberies reported in the Southside neighborhood near UC Berkeley in the past six months, according to CrimeMapping, an online repository of local police data. There have also been six incidents listed as “theft from a person,” and 31 felony thefts of property valued at more than $950.
