Features

Bus Fracas Suspect Charged 

Berkeley Police identified the man arrested during a Sunday fracas over a bombed Israeli bus on exhibit at Martin Luther King Jr. Park as Reuven Kahane. 

An Oakland man, he identified himself to Jewish News Weekly in 2003 as the first cousin of Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League in American and the anti-Arab Kach Party in Israel. 

The State Department currently lists Kach as a terrorist organization.  

The elder Kahane was convicted of arms smuggling in 1971, and JDL members were implicated in a series of bombings targeting Soviet and Arab organizations as well as American Jewish entertainment mogul Sol Hurok, whose talent agency booked Soviet artists. 

Numerous other JDL members have been convicted of bombings, assaults, and other charges. 

The same year Meir Kahane was convicted, he moved to Israel, where he founded the virulently anti-Arab Kach Party, later banned by the Israeli government. 

He was assassinated in New York in 1990 by an Arab terrorist who belonged to the same cell that bombed the World Trade Center three years later. 

Berkeley Police initially took both Kahane and his 14-year-old victim into custody, “when it was discovered that the young man was actually a victim,” said Berkeley Police Spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

Kahane was booked on one count of battery. 

“While there was lots of verbal confrontation, that was the only physical altercation,” Okies said.  

First Crash, Then Piece 

After two vehicles collided in the 2300 block of Curtis Street just minutes into last Friday, their respective motorists became entangled in a bit of verbal acrimony which soon escalated to something considerably more ominous when one of the aggrieved parties produced a piece and brandished at the other. 

Fortunately, a modicum of sense then entered the picture before a trigger-finger twitch could result in grievous bodily harm. 

When it was over, the unarmed party called nine-one-one. 

Officers discovered that the two parties knew each other before the fender-bending, and the case remains under investigation, said Officer Okies. 

How Shoplifting Becomes Robbery 

After an alert clerk at the Gilman Street Walgreen’s spotted a putative shopper stuffing goods inside his coat and heading to the door without stopping by the cash register, he confronted the fellow, who responded with a shove—in the process, dropping a considerable quantity of pilferage. 

By laying hands on the clerk, the shoplifter not only lost much of his swag; he had thereby transformed his lesser, potentially misdemeanor offense into something that carries the promise of lengthier incarceration, namely strong-armed robbery. 

The pushy felon remains at large, said Officer Okies. 

Stalking Suspect Nabbed 

A 53-year-old Berkeley man finds himself facing the possibility of a strenuous stretch in stir. 

After he made contact with his former partner in the predawn hours last Saturday, she called police, who arrived within minutes and launched a search of the surrounding area. 

Caught within minutes, the suspect was booked on suspicion of stalking and making threats of great bodily injury or worse to his ex-companion. 

Blue-eyed, Stranger 

A Berkeley woman called police last Saturday to report an odd occurrence of the day before. 

She’d been walking by the Salvation Army store in the 1800 block of University Avenue when she caught the attention of a thin, denim-jacketed, khaki-bag-carrying blue-eyed stranger, who then proceeded to show her a part of himself she didn’t want to see. 

Purse-Snatcher Caught 

Berkeley Police arrested three juveniles on suspicion of grand theft following a Sunday evening purse-snatching on Channing Way near the corner of Shattuck Avenue. 

Their victim called police, who arrived a moment later and found the trio within minutes during the subsequent area check, said Officer Okies. 

Trespass, and More 

An hour after police apprehended the trio of purse-snatching suspect, they were called to the 1900 block of McGee Avenue after the homeowners spotted a stranger doing sneaky things in their back yard. 

When police arrived, they took the 35-year-old man into custody after discovering he had a pocket full of amphetamine as well as some items that didn’t belong to him. 

Armed Robber Sought 

While many Berkeley folk were watching the six o’clock news Monday, one dreadlocked felon was carrying heat and looking for a victim and a 35-year-old woman was strolling along the 3200 block of Baker Street. 

The gunman walked up to the woman, pulled out his pistol and demanded cash. She complied, and the felon booked. 

No arrests have been made, said Officer Okies. 

Anonymous Victim 

A caller reported from College Avenue at 3:20 a.m. that he’d just been threatened by a man holding a black pistol. Police have little to go on, since the victim refused to give his identity.  

Wine Generator Swiped 

The operators of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant at 1605 San Pablo Ave. called police at 9:43 a.m. Tuesday to report that someone had swapped their generator—an essential tool for maintaining the temperatures of delicate vintages during power outages. 

The generator remains at large. 

Brandished Nozzle? 

A College Avenue resident rang up Berkeley Police just at 4:41 Tuesday afternoon to report that two juveniles had swiped his hose nozzle and were brandishing in a threatening way at two others. 

By the time officers arrived to the corner of Beverly Place and Monterey Avenue, threateners, threatenees and the nozzle had trickled out of the scene. 

Radio Shack Rip-Off 

A strongarm bandit emptied the till at the 1652 University Ave. Radio Shack just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. 

Prescription Forger Bust 

Police arrested a 48-year-old Berkeley woman at Abbot’s Pharmacy, 2320 Woolsey St., Wednesday morning after she tried to fill a forged prescription. A second charge was added when investigators discovered she’d done the same thing at Elephant Pharmacy.  

Road Rage Threat 

Police are investigating a case of road rage that occurred following a minor fender-bender between two cars on Shattuck Avenue just south of Kittredge Street. 

The driver of one of the cars told officers that the woman behind the wheel of the other vehicle had barked out the threat that “my old man is going to kill you.”?