Features

Chief Makes Arrest 

Tuesday’s City Council meeting was disrupted when two homeless men started screaming and throwing punches outside Old City Hall. When the sounds of the dustup drifted into council chambers, Police Chief Roy Meisner left the meeting and headed outside to break up the fight. Meisner, along with other officers, separated the pair, one of whom was bleeding profusely from his face from as wound inflicted by a metal belt buckle. Police arrested the belt-wielder, Marlin Norrise, 21, for assault with a deadly weapon and sought medical attention for the victim, who was not charged. Norrise told officers the two had fought the previous week and that he was trying to sleep when the victim started bothering him. 

Purse Robbery 

A woman swung her purse at three robbers approaching her from behind, but couldn’t keep them from getting what they wanted. According to police, the woman was walking northbound on Milvia at 12:22 a.m. Tuesday when she heard loud footsteps coming from behind. She looked over her shoulder and saw three teenagers running at her, one with his fists raised. Acting on instinct, she reached back and swung her purse at them, but the strap broke and the purse landed on the sidewalk. As she fled on foot, the teenagers grabbed the purse and headed southbound on Milvia. 

Alert Neighbor 

A resident on the 2400 block of Telegraph Avenue spotted a burglar prowling his neighbor’s backyard Monday evening. When he tried to stop the burglar from stealing his neighbor’s two unlocked bikes, the burglar managed to escape. The neighbor called police, who found the suspect three blocks away with a third bike. Police arrested Lavell West, 52, of Oakland for grand theft. 

Robbery 

A robber armed with a screwdriver grabbed a purse from a woman on the 2700 block of Prince Street late Tuesday morning. The woman told police she had just parked in her driveway when she opened the car door when the thief appeared. When he threatened to stab her with the screwdriver if she didn’t hand over her purse, the woman complied. The thief then jumped into a gray coupe and sped away.