Features

Garden tool brandished 

Berkeley police arrested a 46-year-old woman on one count of brandishing a deadly weapon shortly before 2 a.m. last Tuesday after she allegedly confronted another woman with a forked gardening tool, said Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

The affronted woman, 47, called police after the tool wielder departed, and the fork offender was then taken into custody. 

Alert janitor spots felon 

Two hours later, a janitor called police to report that he’d spotted someone inside the Orchard Supply store at 1025 Ashby Ave. 

Okies said officers arrived just as the fellow was about to depart the scene, sparking a brief foot chase that ended with the 50-year-old suspect facing charges of burglary, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest. 

Ashby BART heist 

Two teenage strong-arm bandits grabbed an iPod from a 24-year-old woman as she was walking along Martin Luther King Jr. Way across from the Ashby BART station. 

Drug team raids home 

A lengthy investigation by the BPD narcotics unit into complaints of drug dealing in the 1600 block of 63rd Street ended in a Wednesday afternoon raid on one of the houses in the block, said Officer Okies. 

By the time officers completed their search of the residence they had discovered heroin and cocaine packaged for sale, along with methamphetamine and equipment for making false IDs. 

Four men and one woman, ranging in age from 19 to 46, were arrested on a total of eight charges, Okies said. 

Belated report 

A 27-year-old woman called Berkeley Police Friday to report that a strong-arm robber had made off with her purse five days earlier as she was walking in the 2600 block of College Avenue. 

Seasons robbed 

A middle-aged man claiming to have a gun walked into Seasons Clothing at 2035 University Ave. about 5:15 Saturday afternoon and demanded the contents of the till. 

The clerk complied and the bandit departed, said Officer Okies. 

Major rat pack 

After a citizen called to complain that a group of 10 to 15 teenagers had robbed him of his cash and personal items near the Ashby BART Station just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday, officers arrived in time to stop a group and teens and arrested two of them as suspects in the heist.