Features

Normal Hours Resumed 

After a week of money-saving closures, the front counter at the city Public Safety Center resumed normal hours today (Tuesday). 

Carjack, Rape 

Police are investigating the carjacking and rape of woman who was abducted at the corner of San Pablo and Ashby avenues shortly after midnight on Dec. 20. 

The woman was forced into the back seat of her car and taken to an unknown location where she was sexually assaulted, said Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

The suspects then fled with the woman’s car. 

Fence Fire 

Police responded to an arson report in the 1300 block of Neilsen Street at 4:40 a.m. Dec. 21. When they arrived, they found that the property owner had already extinguished the blaze, which had consumed part of a fence. 

Stabbing Suspect Booked 

Officers arrested a 46-year-old woman on charges of assault with a deadly weapon after she allegedly stabbed a 30-year-old woman in the arm at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 21. 

The incident occurred in the 1500 block of Tyler Street, said Officer Okies. 

Bottle Bashing Bust 

When a 54-year-old Berkeley man arrived at a hospital emergency room later on Dec. 21 suffering from a head wound, he told a nurse that an acquaintance had thrown a bottle at him. 

The nurse called police, and in the ensuing investigation arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. 

Abuse Arrest 

Police arrested a 25-year-old man for child abuse late in the afternoon of the Dec. 21 after receiving a report of an incident at the Habitot Children’s Museum in the basement of the Shattuck Hotel Building. 

Brick Basher Sought 

A South Berkeley woman called police just after 9 p.m. on Dec. 21 to report that her spouse had been struck in the head with a brick after he told a young man he was tired of having him hang out in the area, near the corner of Harmon and Idaho streets. 

Gas Station Robbed 

A husky young man with a gun walked into a gas station at 1250 University Ave. just after 9 p.m. Thursday and demanded cash. 

The station attendant complied, and the bandit fled with his loot. 

Auto Arsonist 

A felon armed with a knife and a flare walked up to a car parked in the 2900 block of Oak Knoll Terrace Friday morning, slashed a hole in the cloth convertible top and dropped the flare inside. 

Police have no description of the arsonist. 

Scrooge Strikes 

A Christmas Eve Scrooge did a dastardly deed in the 1300 block of 67th Street sometime before 9 a.m. on Friday, making off with various Christmas decorations, including three seven-foot-high reindeer. 

Jewel Heist Reported 

A 55-year-old Berkeley woman called police Friday afternoon to report that she been burglarized of jewelry worth $23,000. 

Yuletide Fracas 

An Elmwood Christmas morning dustup between two brothers ended with battery arrests for both. 

Officers were summoned to a home near the corner of Russell and Piedmont streets, where they found the pair, ages 65 and 56, still angry and unwilling to yield. 

They were hauled off to the city cooler to contemplate their lack of Christmas spirit. 

Harried Krishnas 

Berkeley Police were summoned to the Krishna Temple at 2334 Stuart St. Sunday afternoon after a man walked into the building and refused to leave. 

When temple members tried to escort him out of the building, a fracas broke out in the kitchen. 

Temple members said the 43-year-old intruder battled their attempts at eviction, throwing cookware and otherwise disrupting their culinary scene. 

Police booked the man on suspicion of battery and malicious mischief.”