An assault and carjacking that happened in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto early Monday morning ended with an arrest of a female suspect in West Oakland, according to a Nixle alert issued around 12:25 p.m. by Berkeley police.
BPD said that at 6:12 a.m., dispatch responded to the 1600 block of Walnut Street (at Cedar) where they made contact with a female victim. She reported that she was getting into her car when a dark sedan (occupied by two people) pulled up and a lone male subject got out. The victim was sitting in the driver seat of her car when the suspect pulled her out, assaulted her, and then drove away northbound on Walnut Street in the victim’s black Lexus RX 350.
Dispatch then immediately entered the car into the Stolen Vehicle System, said BPD.
At 9:35 a.m., dispatch was contacted by a helicopter from the California Highway Patrol to say it had spotted the stolen Lexus at Golden Gate Fields. A CHP patrol vehicle that attempted a traffic stop of the Lexus then collided with the stolen Lexus.
CHP’s Air Unit continued following the Lexus as it raced through Berkeley and into Oakland, said BPD, who then notified the Oakland Police Department to let them know that the carjacked vehicle had entered their city.
The Lexus was abandoned by the driver on the 1300 block of Mandela Parkway in front of an apartment complex. The suspect then got into another vehicle parked nearby and again attempted to flee. The CHP Air Unit continued to follow the car while keeping OPD updated on its trajectory.
The suspect then crashed the second vehicle and attempted to flee on foot in the area of Tenth and Pine streets in Oakland. The female suspect was then taken into custody, according to BPD. Oakland officers also recovered property stolen from the victim during the carjacking.
The investigation is ongoing as there are still suspects at large, said the police.