An Antioch man has been charged with robbery after nearly running over a woman who struggled to keep her phone when she was accosted in South Berkeley last week, according to court papers.
The woman was texting on her phone at the corner of Ashby Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way on Aug. 13 when the robbery took place, police wrote in court documents. It was one of several robberies that night that happened around Berkeley in short order. Police have said they don’t believe any of the cases are linked.
Just before 5:15 p.m., a car pulled up on MLK and a young man jumped out from the passenger side. He “lunged at the victim, grabbed her cell phone, and forcefully pulled it away,” police wrote. The man got back inside and the woman reached into the car to try to get her phone back, but she was unsuccessful.
“The car sped away nearly crushing the victim between the car and curb/trash can/pole and causing her to fall on to the pavement with her left arm nearly run over by the right, rear tire of the car,” according to court documents. According to police, the driver took off quickly, dragging the woman “and nearly causing her a significant injury.”
Berkeley investigators put out a notice to other law enforcement agencies to advise them of relevant details in the case. The next night, OPD officers found the car in East Oakland and tried to stop it. They were able to detain the driver while another person got away, according to court papers.
Police said the driver, 18-year-old Daevon Hudson, said the car was his and admitted he had driven it during Monday’s robbery.
Friday, authorities charged Hudson with second-degree robbery. He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $50,000 and is set to enter a plea Thursday.
The other suspect in the case has not been arrested.
