A longtime felon is in custody this week facing a slew of felony charges in connection with a stalking and shooting investigation that began in Berkeley last month, according to court papers.
On Friday, the Alameda County district attorney’s office charged 34-year-old Alvin Monroe of Pleasanton with stalking, shooting at a vehicle and numerous other gun-related felonies, according to court papers.
At the time of the shooting, which took place April 22 at Fairview and Harper streets, police say Monroe had been “threatening and stalking” a Berkeley man for a month “over a perceived debt.”
Shootings have been on the rise in Berkeley since 2018: There have already been twice as many this year as there were in 2020. Berkeley has had at least 13 confirmed gunfire calls already this year.
The April 22 shooting took place at 11:30 p.m., police said. Before the shooting, according to court papers, Monroe had displayed a gun and threatened the victim at Fairview and Adeline streets. The victim fled on foot, police said.
Minutes later, Monroe fired his gun at the man’s unoccupied vehicle, which had been parked around the corner, according to BPD. Police said cellphone records put Monroe in the area at the time of the shooting and that he admitted to the crime in a text message detectives discovered through their investigation.
“The victim stated he was in fear of Monroe and that Monroe had also threatened to kill his children,” police wrote.
BPD got a warrant for Monroe’s arrest and, on Thursday morning, searched his homes in Concord and Pleasanton, according to court papers. BPD said Monroe tried to flee during the operation, but he was ultimately taken into custody in Pleasanton at 7:30 a.m.
Hidden in Monroe’s car behind the stereo, according to court papers, police found a “fully automatic 9mm ghost gun with a loaded 31 round extended magazine.”
During an interview with detectives after he had been advised of his right to remain silent, “Monroe confessed to possessing the illegal firearm, threatening the victim and to shooting multiple rounds into the victim’s vehicle. He admitted the gun located by police was the same one he used to shoot into the victim’s vehicle with,” according to court papers.
Monroe has past arrests related to “battery, robbery, narcotic sales, criminal threats, unlawful firearm possession, assault with a deadly weapon, stalking, domestic violence, child cruelty, and continuous sexual abuse of a child,” police wrote in court papers, adding that Monroe has felony convictions for robbery, stalking, unlawful firearm possession and drug sales.
The DA’s office charged Monroe with stalking, shooting at an unoccupied vehicle, possession of a firearm by a felon, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, machine gun conversion and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, according to court papers.
Monroe has convictions in Alameda County for stalking in 2018, firearm possession by a felon in 2007 and robbery in 2005, according to court papers. The latter two cases sent him to prison.
The DA’s office has asked for a conviction in the new case to be considered a second strike, according to court records.
As of Monday, Monroe remained in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $200,000. His next court date was not listed as of publication time.
