Berkeley Police Log for July 14-20, 2011

Wednesday, July 20

A young man accosted for his cell phone in the 1600 block of Ashby Avenue about 8:15 p.m. refused to give it up, even after his two assailants hit and punched him to the ground. The assailants, who left their victim with a few scrapes and bruises, are described by police as "a black male adult, 25 years old, medium to dark skin, shoulder-length black dreadlocks, thin mustache and goatee, 6 feet tall, medium build wearing a red T-shirt," and “a black male adult, 22 years old, medium skin, short Afro, little facial hair, 5’6” tall, wearing a white T-shirt."

Two iPhone 4s were reported stolen after midnight from the Recreational Sports Facility.

A man returned from overseas to find that the 1987 Toyota pickup he'd parked July 5 on the 1300 block of Northside Avenue was gone.

A woman was at home in the 1600 block of Dwight Way about 8:30 p.m. when someone shattered her window with a brick, then disappeared.

A young man left his $1,200 Dell XPS 15” Laptop computer and his Samsung cell phone on a café table in the 2500 block of Telegraph Avenue and went to use the restroom. When he returned, they were gone. Another customer said he saw two possible thieves at the unattended table, one with a laptop in his hand, who left the café and ran west on Dwight Way.

A man in People's Park was jailed on a felony no-bail warrant.

Tuesday, July 19

A couple in the 1800 block of Hearst Avenue woke to find the crawl-space door under their home open and its padlock cut. Overnight, someone had stolen their $1,000 Trek 8000 bicycle.

A man incensed by his friend's spilling coffee was accused of .

A scruffy character seen prowling around the business school may be behind someone's $3 loss of stuff.

Monday, July 18

A UC employee was accused of stealing $458 worth of inventory from the ASUC Store.

A man was picked up this afternoon in People's Park on a Colorado Department of Corrections warrant and drug charges.

A man in the 800 block of Indian Rock Avenue received a credit-card statement from a retail chain that he never goes to and doesn't have a card for, and a call from a credit-card company advising him that someone had attempted to open an account with his name, address and Social Security number.

A 68-year-old woman heard knocking and kicking on her locked front door just after noon in the 1400 block of Delaware Street. While she was on the phone with 911, the door gave way and two men forced their way inside. She screamed, and the men ran toward the North Berkeley BART station, where a BART officer stopped one of the invaders as he tried to board a train. The other was found hiding between houses in the 1800 block of Short Street. One, a 24-year-old Oakland man, had a no-bail warrant and a parole hold; the second, a 31-year-old Vallejo man, was found to have a probation violation.

A Richmond man was picked up on a drunken-driving charge at 1:52 a.m. at Shattuck Avenue and Kittredge Street. 

A guy bathing in a Sproul Hall basement restroom was spoken to about it.

Sunday, July 17

In separate incidents, three people were robbed at gunpoint just after midnight in the 2300 block of Grant Street, Hearst Avenue and Chestnut Street, and San Pablo Avenue and Cowper Street.

Someone stole stuff in the predawn hours from Telegraph Wireless at 3085 Telegraph. 

Someone obtained a key to an Albany Village woman's apartment and stole more than $1200 worth of stuff.

A 27-year-old man was arrested on a probation violation at the Unit 3 dorms about 8:30 p.m.

A vehicle window was smashed at San Pablo Avenue and Carleton Street, and a backpack was taken.

Stereos were taken from unlocked cars on Acton Circle and the 2400 block of Acton Street.

The window-smasher at 100 Seawall Drive netted a wallet and backpack.

The thief caught prying open a house window in the 2100 block of Woolsey Street was arrested.

So was the thief caught smashing a vehicle window in the 3300 block of Adeline Street.

A door was left unlocked in the 1200 block of Channing Way, and two laptops disappeared through it.

A window left open in the 2500 block of Ellsworth sentenced a laptop and two bikes to a similar fate.

On the 2400 block of Piedmont Avenue, a bike was divested of its front wheel.

Someone was robbed at gunpoint on the 2600 block of Telegraph just before midnight.

Saturday, July 16

Someone cut a garage-door lock was cut in the 2900 block of Regent Street and stole furniture and a model train.

Discerning burglars stole a painting from a garage in the 2900 block of Shasta Road.

A man was arrested near North Gate Hall about 1:45 a.m. on outstanding warrants and public-drunkenness charges.

The catalytic converter was stripped from a vehicle in the 2000 block of Oregon Street, while a thief bent on this end in the 1200 block of Milvia Street was foiled in the attempt.

Laptops and cameras vanished through unlocked windows in the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and the 2400 block of Ashby Avenue.

Unlocked cars yielded wallets, cellphones and a driver's license.

A 16-year-old girl was cited near Stephens Hall on a weapons charge, and a 17-year-old boy who police said had marijuana was also cited.

Two men lost their People's Park hanging-out privileges for seven days this afternoon after exposing themselves and otherwise causing disturbance.

Someone stole a 1992 Jeep Cherokee from the 1700 block of California Street.

Four young people learned that, while Grizzly Peak is a lovely place to smoke weed on Saturday night, one can be cited for the practice.

At Bancroft Way and Dana Street, two others learned that it's especially unwise to imbibe while driving if you don't have a driver's license.

Friday, July 15

A woman was arrested for suspected DUI at Bancroft and Telegraph shortly after midnight.

A boy accused of stealing a cell phone in the 2100 block of Shattuck was arrested.

Someone cut a lock in the 1200 block of Hearst Avenue and stole a Cannondale bike. 

Vehicle thieves took a blue Honda from the 1500 block of Harmon Street and a silver Volvo from King Street and Alcatraz Avenue.

Someone in People's Park was arrested on probation-violation and syringe-possession charges.

The sight of Target shopping bags behind a car window proved irresistible this afternoon to a burglar on the 2300 block of Fourth Street.

Another car window was smashed on the same block a few minutes later, but nothing was taken.

In fact, car windows were smashed all over town: in the 2300 block of Haste, the 1400 block of Tenth Street, the 2800 block of Seventh Street and the 1900 block of Fourth Street, with a subsequent loss of clothing, phones and other electronics.

A man tried to rob someone at Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road at 11:30 p.m. with the threat of a gun, but his erstwhile victim/s didn't buy it.

Thursday, July 14

A pedestrian snarled traffic at 10:30 a.m. by refusing to leave the University Avenue offramp of Interstate 80. 

A student's $500 Trek bike was stolen from the Tolman Hall breezeway.

Yet more thefts of copper building materials, this time in the 1500 block of Grizzly Peak Boulevard and the 100 block of Cragmont Avenue.

In two separate incidents reported just after 6 p.m., home windows were pried open in the 2100 block of Ninth Street. The thief or thieves took jewelry, watches, a passport and Social Security card and a piggy bank.

A Social Security card was also stolen from a mail bin in the 2300 block of Prospect Street.

Someone who forced a vehicle window in the 1400 block of Hawthorne Street stole tools and other stuff.

An unlocked auto in the 2200 block of Browning Street yielded someone a laptop.

A window in the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way was forced open, and two laptops were taken.

A lock was cut in the 900 block of Page Street, and two bikes stolen from the back yard.

Yet another People's Park denizen was arrested on a probation violation.

A 1990 Nissan was stolen from the 2400 block of Ninth Street, and a 1993 Honda Civic was stolen from the 1000 block of Hearst.

Another vehicle in the 1000 block of Hearst lost its registration sticker.