Features

Student Brutally Beaten, Reward Offered 

Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the two men who beat and kicked a 23-year-old student unconscious early Saturday morning. 

Thomas Osseck III, a senior in UC Berkeley’s American Studies program was attacked as he was walking near the Euclid Avenue and Virginia Street at about 3:30 a.m., reports Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

Osseck’s family in Orange County and fellow students are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailants, said David Friedberg, who is acting as the family’s spokesperson. 

The young man was beaten so badly he didn’t recover consciousness until Wednesday. “He’s awake and seems to recognize people, but he’s still unable to communicate,” Friedberg said. 

Because the robbers emptied his pockets, police were unable to identify the beating victim until he mumbled his name Monday morning. 

“He’s an incredibly nice guy,” said his friend. “He was beaten so badly that the police said they might’ve killed him except for the presence of a witness.” 

Police said the two attackers were African American males, one heavyset and approximately six feet tall who was wearing dark pants and a white jacket with a hood, the other with a medium build approximately 5’9” tall and wearing a dark hooded jacket and dark pants. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the BPD Robbery Detail at 981-5742 or e-mail police@berkeley.ci.us. Callers can remain anonymous if they chose.  

Terrified Woman Flags Down Help 

Berkeley police arrested a 36-year-old man after a woman passenger in his car flagged down officers on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue near Allston Way. 

When the woman told police she’d been threatened and held in the car following a dispute that began in the Berkeley Marina, officers arrested her partner on charges of domestic violence, false imprisonment and making terrorist threats.  

Pair Popped for Heist 

Berkeley police arrested two 22-year-old men Sunday for the strongarm cash robbery of a 22-year-old woman near the corner of Allston Way and 9th Street just before 8 p.m. Sunday. 

Backpack Boosters Busted 

An alert Berkeley resident spotted a pair of teenagers strong-arming a backpack away from a young woman in the 1900 block of Grant Street at 7:47 p.m. Wednesday. 

Officers arrived in time to nab the two youths, recover the backpack and escort the robbers to new quarters in Juvenile Hall. 

Elderly Woman Returned Home  

A Korean-speaking woman police found lost and confused in Berkeley Monday was returned home Tuesday after callers responding to press reports alerted her family in San Francisco. 

Identifying the woman was complicated by the fact she carried no identification and spoke only her native language, said Officer Okies.