The Berkeley man arrested Sunday in connection with a shooting and family dispute threw a 71-year-old relative down a flight of stairs before the gun went off, according to a police report from his arrest.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged Joseph Javonte Brewer, 30, with felony threats, elder abuse and assault Tuesday following his arrest by Berkeley police on Sunday.
Brewer’s grandmother called police Sunday afternoon to report that Brewer “had ‘hurt and shot at’ her husband” in their home in the 900 block of Channing Way, according to a declaration of probable cause by Berkeley police.
“During an altercation, Brewer had thrown the 71-year-old victim down a flight of approximately 10 stairs of their residence two times,” according to the statement. “The victim then went inside the residence to retrieve a firearm, a struggle then ensued near the front door of the residence over control of the firearm.”
The gun went off once, according to the report, and the round went through the older man’s pants near his thigh. The report did not specify who it was police believe pulled the trigger.
“The victim stated he felt a burning sensation in his upper thigh but was not directly struck by the bullet,” according to the report. “Brewer then took the firearm from the victim,” stashed it in a pants pocket and threatened to kill both relatives, according to the document.
When police arrived, they found Brewer on a nearby street corner with the .357 magnum revolver still in his pocket, according to their statement. They took him into custody and booked him into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, where he has remained since Sunday in lieu of $375,000 bail, according to jail records.
Brewer is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
The incident was Berkeley’s fourth confirmed case of gunfire this year.
There were reports of shots fired on Jan. 3 and Feb. 15, with nobody injured in either instance.
On March 12 a motorist was shot in the head while driving in South Berkeley. He walked into a nearby hospital and was last reported in stable condition.
