The Berkeley Police Department regularly releases cases of community interest, which include incidents that involve violence or weapons, or that people in the city have asked about. In 2018, BPD handled about 73,000 incidents and made more than 2,000 arrests. Every month, there are 200-300 Part 1 crimes in Berkeley. Most Part 1 crimes, which are the categories tracked by the FBI, are serious felonies. Arrestees are innocent until proven guilty.
COMMUNITY CENTER STABBING A 55-year-old Berkeley man has been charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon after a stabbing Sunday in West Berkeley, police report. Officers were called to the 700 block of Harrison Street (near Fourth Street) at 4:53 a.m. to handle a fight. When police got there, they found a 59-year-old man “bleeding profusely” from injuries to his arm from a stabbing: “While officers administered first aid to the man — applying a patrol tourniquet, other officers located the suspect in another part of the facility.” The injured man was taken to the hospital for treatment. Police identified the assailant as Carl William Aytcham. The Alameda County district attorney’s office charged Aytcham on Tuesday with assault with a deadly weapon, as well as the special allegation of causing great bodily injury. According to court records online, Aytcham remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $80,000. He is scheduled to enter a plea May 30 at the René C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland.
ARMED ROBBERY OF PIZZA DELIVERYMAN Two men with a gun robbed a man delivering pizzas in West Berkeley on May 15, police say. At 11 p.m., the 43-year-old Oakland man was in the 900 block of Addison Street (near Seventh Street) when two men pointed a gun at him and demanded his phone and wallet. Once the robbers took the items, they drove off in a four-door sedan heading west on Addison. Witnesses said one of the robbers was a black man in his 20s, 5 feet 5 inches tall with a thin build, wearing a long black jacket and pants. The other robber was described as a white man in his 20s, 5 feet 5 inches tall with a thin build, wearing a dark hooded top.
POLICE INVESTIGATE KNIFEPOINT ROBBERY SERIES NEAR UC CAMPUS Berkeley police investigators say they are looking into an armed robbery series on or near the UC Berkeley campus on May 15 and May 20. Berkeleyside previously reported the May 15 incidents — a robbery and robbery attempt on the Observatory Hill path and in the 2300 block of Ellsworth Street (near Bancroft Way). Berkeley police believe the same culprits also tried to rob a group of young men, ages 18 and 19 years old, Monday at 10 p.m. The teenagers were walking from the parking garage at Channing Way and Ellsworth Street, just south of campus, when a man with a knife demanded their property. BPD said the teens ran away. The person with the knife — who was seen with two others nearby just before the robbery — was described as a mixed-race man in his 20s, 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall with a slim build, with a short goatee or beard, wearing a burgundy zip-up hooded top. Police ask anyone with information about the series or suspects to call BPD’s Robbery Detail at 510-981-5742.
ATM ROBBERY IN DOWNTOWN BERKELEY A 42-year-old woman confronted a woman using the ATM in downtown Berkeley on Friday, pushing her and taking her money, according to police. BPD said a 27-year-old Berkeley woman was taking money out of the Chase ATM, at 2150 Shattuck Ave. (at Center Street), at 10:24 a.m. when a stranger grabbed her cash: “When the woman tried to get her money back, the suspect pushed her away and ran down Shattuck Avenue,” police said. An officer on patrol happened to be driving on Shattuck and saw what was happening, according to BPD. The officer detained the robber, who was identified as Tiffany Nicole Henneman. BPD says Henneman has no listed address. She remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $275,000, according to court records online. Henneman was charged with first-degree ATM robbery. If convicted, it would count as a second strike, according to court records. Henneman already has a commercial burglary conviction from 2014 and a home burglary conviction from 2016, according to court records online. She is scheduled to enter a plea June 6 at the René Davidson Courthouse.
CELLPHONE ROBBERIES Police handled cellphone robberies on May 13 and Thursday, May 16.
On Thursday, a 17-year-old Berkeley girl was walking in the 2000 block of Blake Street (near Milvia Street) in central Berkeley when a group of 10 teenagers approached her and demanded her property. “When she refused, the suspect snatched the cellphone from 17-year-old’s hands,” police said. The group then left, walking west on Blake. Witnesses described one of the robbers as a black or mixed-race juvenile female, about 5’5″-5’6″ tall with a skinny build, and dark hair in a bun.
On May 13 at 6:44 p.m., a 44-year-old Oakland man was walking on 61st Street (near Market Street) in South Berkeley when a stranger approached him from behind. The stranger “tried to grab the man, but the man pushed him away,” BPD said. Two other people “quickly approached the man and took his cellphone.” The group fled.
LAPTOP AND CELLPHONE THEFTS There were three laptop or cellphone thefts in the past week.
On Saturday, two boys — including one who appeared to be 8-12 years old — scammed a young woman out of her cellphone just after 5 p.m., police report. The woman, a 19-year-old from Berkeley, was standing at Durant Avenue and Dana Street when the pair asked if they could use her phone: “The youngest of the pair told the woman that his cellphone was broken and that he wanted to call his mom. The two suspects then passed the phone between each other and the woman lost track of who had the phone. Suddenly, the suspects ran away in different directions,” police said. BART Police found the older member of the pair, a 17-year-old from Fairfield, and arrested him at the downtown Berkeley BART station. The younger boy was described as black, 8-12 years old, 4 feet 8 inches to 5 feet tall with a chubby build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and shoes. The 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, police said. No further information was available about him because of privacy laws that protect minors.
Two men tried to steal a laptop from a woman working at a table outside Whole Foods Market on May 13. The woman — whose age and city of residence were not available — was working outside the South Berkeley Whole Foods, at 3000 Telegraph Ave. (at Ashby Avenue), at 5:50 p.m. when the men approached her, grabbed the computer and ran away. Police said a good Samaritan and the store security guard chased the men, who ended up dropping the laptop as they fled. Witnesses described one of the thieves as a black man who appeared to be 28-32 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall, wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans. The other man also was described as black, 18-22 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing a collared shirt under a dark jacket.
A man tried to steal a cellphone from a woman who had put it down briefly on a utility box, police report. On May 14, the 52-year-old Berkeley woman was walking in the 1600 block of Alcatraz Avenue (near California Street) in South Berkeley when she stopped for a moment and set down her phone. A man ran up, grabbed the phone and fled, police said. A passerby chased the man. He dropped the phone along the way, police said. Witnesses said the thief was a black man in his 20s, about 5 feet 6 inches tall with black shoulder-length dreadlocks, wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.
BY THE NUMBERS BPD has tallied at least 265 Part 1 crimes in the past four weeks, through Sunday, May 19: 39 violent crimes and 226 property crimes.
There have been 28 robberies, eight aggravated assaults, three rapes and no homicides. On the property crime side, there have been 154 reported thefts, 37 auto thefts and 35 vehicle thefts.
Getting even more granular: there have been 27 home burglaries and eight commercial burglaries, according to BPD. There have been 51 auto burglaries, 82 petty thefts and 21 grand thefts.
