A couple was charged with several felonies last week in connection with a July 25 shooting near downtown Berkeley that did not leave anyone with injuries, police reported Tuesday.
Police say Curtis Hamilton, 62, fired a bullet through a door of an apartment on the 2200 block of Durant Avenue near Fulton Street. Residents found the bullet on the ground after it struck their kid’s toy.
The Hamiltons lived in the same apartment complex and had previously threatened other residents, according to police, who said they found the handgun involved in the shooting, and previous threats, at the couple’s apartment after serving a search warrant.
On July 29, the Alameda County District Attorney’s office charged Curtis with assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats, entry to commit theft or felony, carrying a concealed firearm and discharging a firearm in a negligent manner, all with criminal enhancements. Curtis’ wife, 60-year-old Michelle Annastean Hamilton, was charged with making criminal threats and entry to commit theft or a felony, also with enhancements.
Curtis is being held in Santa Rita Jail on $665,000 bail. He is scheduled to enter a plea on Wednesday. Hamilton is also in jail, being held on $300,000 bail. She will also enter a plea on Wednesday.
Other shootings in Berkeley in 2020
There have been at least 12 other confirmed incidents of gunfire in Berkeley in 2020. Two were fatal.
In March, 29-year-old Diante Craig was shot to death by a stranger during an apparent road rage incident. Criminal charges have been filed.
In June, UC Berkeley student Seth Smith was fatally shot while walking near his home on Dwight Way. No arrests have been made in that case. The investigation remains underway.
Three incidents saw people wounded. In April, a woman was shot near People’s Park in the Southside neighborhood. In July, a 26-year-old Oakland man was wounded during a shooting in South Berkeley. On Saturday, Aug. 1, a man in his 20s was shot in the head in the area of Andronico’s Market. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
There have also been six gunfire incidents with no reported victims: in February at the Berkeley Marina; in mid-March on Berkeley Way near Franklin Street; in late March at Dwight Way and Seventh Street; in April in the 1600 block of Russell Street; and in June in southwest Berkeley and Southside Berkeley.
On July 30, a Berkeley police officer fired her weapon at three people suspected of being involved in a robbery at CVS Pharmacy on Shattuck and Rose avenues. Police do not believe anyone was struck by the shots. Police have not revealed any more details.
