Features

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday August 19, 2005

Witnesses sought 

The California Highway Patrol and six UC Berkeley students Thursday issued a call for more information about a fiery pre-dawn crash on July 16 that claimed the lives of three graduate students. 

The students were riding in a southbound 1995 Toyota that was struck by a tractor-trailer rig that swerved to miss another vehicle. 

Benjamin Boussert, 27, Giulia Addesso, 26, and Jason Choy, 29, were doing post-graduate studies in the university’s chemistry department. 

CHP spokesperson Officer Trent Cross said that a team of investigators had established that the crash may have been caused by “several vehicles that were being driven in a reckless or spectacular manner.” 

He declined to say how many and what might have been the characteristics of the vehicles witnesses observed, adding, “we want to preserve that aspect of the investigation.” 

Cross said investigators have located “many good witnesses, but we feel we have not heard from everyone who observed the crash or who might know who was involved.” 

He asked anyone with any information about the crash to contact the Highway Patrol at 1-800-CALLCHP. 

 

Pipe-basher 

Police arrested a 43-year-old woman at a residence in the 800 block of Page Street just after 3:30 p.m. Monday after she reportedly struck her male companion in the head with a metal pipe.  

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies said the woman was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and spousal abuse. 

 

A real gas 

A caller tipped police that a man had just sprayed a woman with tear gas at the Subway sandwich shop in Shattuck Square about 9:19 Monday evening. Officers arrived in time to find the 30-year-old suspect still on the scene. 

He was booked on suspicion of illegally discharging a tear gas weapon, said Officer Okies. 

 

Rainbow robbery coalition 

A gang of four, including one Anglo man, a Hispanic man, an Asian woman and a dark-skinned woman described as “mixed-race” snatched the purse of a 32-year-old woman as she walked along Hearst Avenue near the corner of Fourth Street Tuesday evening. 

The four fled in a gray or silver import. 

 

Odiferous arson  

Police believe an arsonist may have set the blaze that flared up in a portable toilet at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School at 1701 Rose St. shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday. 

 

Productive stop 

When police stopped a suspiciously acting pedestrian in the 1700 block of University Avenue at 1 a.m. Wednesday, they discovered that the fellow was wanted on warrants. 

The burglary tools and narcotics paraphernalia they discovered in the subsequent search added two more charges to his rap sheet. 

 

Threatens three 

A 45-year-old man was arrested in the 3100 block of Fairview Street at 12:21 p.m. Wednesday after officers were summoned to the scene of a reported fight involving a man and three women. 

He was booked on suspicion of disturbing the peace, battery and making criminal threats to injure the three woman. His attempts to flee added yet another count. 

 

Deadly nugget in Urban Ore 

Workers at Berkeley’s Urban Ore thought there was nothing particularly special about the box of junk metal they bought from a woman early in the week, but when they started sorting through it just after noon Wednesday, they thought again. 

Inside the box they discovered an ominously familiar-looking object that resembled nothing so much as one of those old-fashioned “pineapple” hand grenades. 

An examination by Berkeley ordinance technicians confirmed their suspicions. 

After the bomb squad stabilized the device, Officer Okies said it was taken to a remote undisclosed location and detonated. 

After further investigation, no criminal charges were filed, said the officer. 

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