Crime & Safety
Berkeley Police Log for Dec. 29, 2011-Jan. 5, 2012
Incidents are derived from reports referenced in the UC Police Daily Activity Bulletin, the Berkeley Police calls-for-service log and other reports. The BPD items are from a police-provided sample of the 375+ calls the force receives each week.
Thursday, Jan. 5
A young man and woman were robbed at gunpoint at College Avenue and Dwight Way at 1 a.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 4
Find out what's happening in Berkeleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A 21-year-old man was arrested in the Lawrence Hall of Science parking lot at 2:30 a.m. for violating his probation.
It is unwise to fight outside Trader Joe's at 9 a.m. if you have outstanding warrants, a quantity of weed packaged for sale, and a Coach wallet full of some woman's identification when you are in fact a man.
Find out what's happening in Berkeleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A guy disliked the Tully's off Sproul Plaza enough to spit on the window.
A man drove on Bancroft at Telegraph despite a suspended license.
Tuesday, Jan. 3
An extremely beat-up car in the 1600 block of Alcatraz Avenue this afternoon turned out to be driven by a 43-year-old Antioch man allegedly carrying methamphetamine wrapped up in a blunt along with some weed.
A Richmond man suspected of selling drugs in Berkeley was picked up shortly before 4 p.m. on Walnut Street and University Avenue, where police say they found marijuana packaged for sale in his car. A search of his home yielded more weed, drug-packaging materials, shotgun shells and methamphetamine; while booking him at Berkeley City Jail, police, in their words, "recovered additional methamphetamine hidden in the suspect’s buttocks."
Somebody was robbed at gunpoint at Durant and College avenues about 1:30 a.m.
Monday, Jan. 2
A woman in the 1000 block of Euclid Avenue left three vehicles unlocked in her very long and secluded driveway overnight, and stuff was stolen from all three: cash and coins from her Toyota RAV 4, cash from the Volvo Coupe and a IBM laptop and ski jacket from her Subaru Impreza.
An extremely drunken man being escorted from a grocery store in the 3000 block of Telegraph Avenue at 7 p.m. pulled a knife from his pant pocket, yelled "Don't make me have to use this," thought better of it, got into his car and drove into the night.
Sunday, Jan. 1
Somebody smashed a window of a home on Rock Lane and took stuff including a DVD player and TV. This happened at 11:46 a.m. and it was already BPD's 86th report number for the new year.
A backpack and laptop left in a vehicle in the 200 block of University Avenue tempted window-smashing thieves the same evening.
A purse, wallet and cell phone left unattended in the 3000 block of Telegraph Avenue soon disappeared.
So did a cell phone and wallet left unattended on Josephine Way. A lock was cut at Shattuck Avenue and Kittredge Street about 5 p.m., and a bike taken.
A grey 1995 Grand Cherokee was stolen from the 2400 block of Ashby Avenue.
And a woman watched from her apartment window in the 1600 block of Berkeley Way as a stranger got into her silver 2003 Honda Civic and drove away.
At 9th and Gilman streets, however, the thieves took only the rear license plate.
Saturday, Dec. 31
Somebody pried open the gate of a home in the 2700 block of Mabel Street and stole a purse and a laptop.
Somebody pried open the mailbox of a home in the 1000 block of Heinz Avenue and stole the mail.
At a home in the 1400 block of Eighth Street, someone started to pry the door but wasn't able to steal anything.
People attending a party at a home on Hillcrest Road stole the cell phones and computers.
Cash, an iPod and a computer disappeared from a home in the 2300 block of Russell Street.
A digital camera left in a vehicle in the 2000 block of Bancroft Way was gone via window smash when its owner returned.
A grey 1989 Toyota was stolen early this evening from Stuart and Milvia streets, while a blue 1995 Explorer is missing from the 2500 block of Shattuck Avenue.
Friday, Dec. 30
Two men and a youth said to have strongarmed someone out of an iPhone were arrested at Cedar and Acton streets about 4:45 p.m.
Two men with a gun divested somone of his wallet at 1328 Sixth Street about 9 p.m.
Police dogs were used to conduct a sweep of the UC Berkeley libraries.
A padlock was cut this morning in the 1200 block of Carrison Street and a bike taken.
An unlocked bike in the 2000 block of Fourth Street disappeared.
So did the Sirius radio receiver in an unlocked car in the 1400 block of Cornell Avenue.
The rear plate was stripped from a vehicle in the 1900 block of San Pablo Avenue.
An unlocked vehicle on Menlo Place was rummaged through.
A briefcase and laptop left unattended in the 2300 block of Marin Avenue soon vanished.
Musical thieves took a box of sheet music (and a bike) from Ward Street and Telegraph Avenue.
A laptop, ID and credit cards walked through an unlocked door in the 2400 block of Piedmont Avenue.
A light-blue 1995 Honda Accord vanished this morning from the 2100 block of Ward, while a white 1998 COA is MIA from the 2800 block of Shattuck and a 1997 Accord is missing from Acton Street and Berkeley Way.
A car window was smashed in the 1300 block of San Pablo Avenue and stuff taken.
Same thing happened in the 2400 block of Grant Street, with loss to the owner of a GPS, speakerphone and stereo.
Stuff including an xBox, headphones and clothing vanished through the unlocked window of a home in the 2700 block of Channing Way.
A Latino male in his 20s was seen smashing a vehicle window on Roble Court about 6:20 p.m. It's not known what, if anything, he took.
Another young man was stopped before he could finish prying open the window of a home in the 1900 block of Oregon Street.
And whoever kicked open the door of a home in the 2800 block of Woolsey Street was scared off before he could do anything worse.
Thursday, Dec. 29
Two rooms in Dwinelle Annex were broken into, but it appears that nothing was stolen.
Several people lounging outside New Church Berkeley on Hillegass at 9 a.m. were told to move along.
A shaven-headed kid who claimed to have a gun divested someone of his or her iPad about 8:30 p.m. at 6th Street and Hearst Avenue.
On the other hand, a kid who did have a gun (the victim described it) was unable to persuade said victim at Haste and Dana streets to give him anything.
A $559 brown/gray Navaro ETA B-18 bicycle was stolen from University Village.
Two men kicked open a door in the 1800 block of San Pablo Avenue and stole security jackets and a metal detector.
The front plate was stripped from a vehicle in the 3000 block of Wheeler Street, while the registration sticker was stolen from a vehicle in the 3000 block of California Street.
Somebody stole a package from the 2300 block of San Pablo Avenue.
A leather coat walked away from an unlocked vehicle in the 1300 block of Francisco Street.
A bag left unattended at Center Street and Shattuck Avenue disappeared.
The hubcaps were stripped about 2:30 p.m. from a vehicle at Durant and Shattuck avenues.
A purse, wallet and cell phone left unattended in the 3000 block of Shattuck soon vanished.
Shattered auto glass in the 900 block of Page Street was all that remained to remind the backpack's owner that he'd left it in the car overnight.
A bike was taken from an unlocked shed in the yard of a home in the 1500 block of Hearst Avenue.
This just in from last week:
Tuesday, Dec. 27
Assault with a deadly banjo: Some people got into an argument in front of Amoeba Music about 7 p.m., and one man walloped another in the head with a metal Fender banjo hard enough to render him unconscious. The victim had no idea what had happened to him, partly because he was drunk, but a witness helped police track down the suspect at Channing Way and Bowditch Street, where he was arrested. The victim was treated at a hospital, where his injuries were judged non-life-threatening.
