Police have arrested a man they say used a replica gun to take a laptop from someone at a West Berkeley business Wednesday evening.
The arrest followed a brief search for the suspect in the neighborhood. Police ultimately recovered the stolen laptop as well as the gun, which turned out to be a replica firearm, according to the Berkeley Police Department.
Officer Byron White, BPD spokesman, said police got multiple reports just before 5:10 p.m. about a man with a gun at Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue. According to the reports, the man might have been pointing the gun at someone.
When officers got to the area, they were told a man with a gun had taken a laptop from someone inside a business in the 2900 block of San Pablo Avenue.
“When the suspect ran away, several people in the area followed the suspect and alerted police,” White said. “After establishing a perimeter and search, officers located the suspect hiding inside an apartment complex on the 2800 block of Eighth Street (about 10 minutes later).”
Police identified the man as 60-year-old Edward Clark of Oakland. He was arrested on suspicion of robbery and first-degree burglary, according to jail records online.
Clark also was arrested for violating the terms of his release from an earlier burglary conviction. The man’s booking photo was not released because the case is still under investigation.
Clark is being held on $150,000 bail at Santa Rita Jail. He is scheduled for arraignment Friday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.
