Election Section

Youthful Arsonists 

Thanks to the fortunate presence of an eyewitness, the fling at arson by a pair of teenagers Tuesday afternoon didn’t turn into something worse. 

Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies said the witness called police after seeing two teenagers stick a piece of burning paper into the mailbox of a building in the 2100 block of Allston Way just after 4 p.m. 

The caller extinguished the blaze before firefighters and police arrived. 

Though the two fire bugs were last seen headed northbound on Oxford Street, they had vanished by the time police started their search. 

A Real Gas 

Police arrested a 17-year-old Berkeley woman after a fight with her 24-year-old boyfriend escalated into something worse just after 5 p.m. Tuesday. 

Police were called to the 1200 block of 67th Street after she produced a can of tear gas and sprayed her erstwhile companion. 

Officers charged her with brandishing a deadly weapon, use of tear gas other than in self-defense and as a minor in possession of tear gas. 

Megan’s Law Bust 

Berkeley Police arrested a 27-year-old convicted sex offender on charges of failing to register with local authorities under the provisions of Megan’s Law and for giving a false name to investigators. 

The man was arrested at 5:26 p.m. Tuesday after a pedestrian stop in the 2500 block of Dwight Way, said Officer Okies. 

Cody’s Flasher 

A heavy-set man wearing a dark baseball cap showed a clerk at Cody’s Books on Telegraph Avenue a lot more of himself than she wanted to see just before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, then departed the scene before officers could make an arrest. 

Half-Price Robbery 

A pistol-packin’ predator stormed into Half-Price Books at 1849 Solano Ave. about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday and demanded cash. His request fulfilled, he fled in a silver sedan. 

Stomping 

Police are seeking the couple who kicked an 18-year-old woman in the 1400 block of Berkeley Way at 10:30 Tuesday night. 

Officer Okies said the duo, which included an 18-year-old thinly built woman with braids and a slightly older man with gold-capped front teeth, fled in blue Chevrolet following the assault. 

The pair is wanted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon. 

Drive-By BB 

A 34-year-old woman was the victim of a drive-by BB-gun attack as she walked in the 1200 block of Euclid Street near the Rose Garden about 11 p.m. Tuesday. 

The woman said the shots were fired from a white van that drove past her.›