Features

Home invaders 

A gang of three men, one in his 50s and the others in their 20s, invaded the home of a Berkeley woman in the 1600 block of Alcatraz Avenue on Sept. 24, robbing their terrified victim of a computer, a television set and a DVD player before fleeing in a battered 1980s vintage red American car, said Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

The woman wasn’t injured in the attack. 

Berkeley Bowl attack 

A younger man slashed the face of a man in his 40s in an attack in the Berkeley Bowl parking lot shortly before 3 p.m. on Sept. 24. The victim was treated at a local hospital. 

Road rage bust 

Following an outburst of road rage about 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 in the 2600 block of College Avenue, one of the two women involved tailed the other, prompting the pursued to call police, who stopped the pursuer, a 21-year-old woman and her 45-year-old male companion.  

A search of their car turned up a knife, a pistol and stolen property, earning the arrestees a variety of charges, the least of which was driving on a suspended license. 

Bike brigands 

A pair of would-be teenage felons mounted on BMX-style bicycles produced a pistol and robbed a pedestrian of his cell phone and wallet near the corner of Dana Street and Dwight Way about 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 25. 

Mop attack 

A 21-year-old woman attacked a 32-year-old woman with a mop at 9:30 a.m. last Monday in the 1400 block of Harmon Street. 

Gambling bust 

Police arrested five suspects on gambling charges after neighbors called officers to report their gaming activity near one of the volleyball courts in Strawberry Creek Park shortly before 7 p.m. last Tuesday. 

Home invasion II 

A couple sleeping in their home near the corner of Ashby Avenue and Wheeler Street Tuesday night was awakened by the sound of a masked burglar crawling in through their bedroom window. 

After they confronted the bandit—a man in his 20s—the burglar produced a pistol and proceeded to rob them. 

Bank heist 

A man in his 30s walked into the Citibank branch at 2000 Shattuck Ave. shortly after 12:30 p.m. Thursday and presented the teller with a demand note. As they are taught to do, the teller handed over the cash and the man fled on foot. He was last seen headed toward University Avenue, said Officer Okies. 

Berkeley Bowl attack II 

A 42-year-old man was attacked by a uniquely clad man armed with a screwdriver in the Berkeley Bowl parking lot about 7:20 p.m. Thursday. 

The suspect is described as a clean-shaven African American man about 25 years old who stands about 5’9” and weighs about 170 pounds. 

He was dressed in a camel-colored snap-brim hat, a blue puffy jacket, and white and blue vertically stripped shirt, black pants and golf shoes. He fled the scene on foot. 

Robbery 

A man in his early 20s strong-armed the purse away from a 42-year-old woman in the 3000 block of San Pablo Avenue about 10 p.m. Thursday. 

Middle school knife flasher 

Police arrested a 13-year-old at Willard Middle School just after 3 p.m. Friday after the youth allegedly threatened another student with a knife. 

Orange dred heister 

A tall man with shoulder-length orange dreadlocks robbed a 14-year-old girl of her cell phone and keys in the 2100 block of Shattuck Avenue shortly before 4 p.m. last Friday, said Officer Okies. 

Armed youths 

Berkeley Police officers conducting a security check in the 2300 block of Tenth Street shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday found a group of 15 people, most of them juveniles. Three were found to be in possession of firearms, including one adult. The pistol-packers were arrested and hauled off to the pokey. 

Armed driver 

When police stopped a 20-year-old driver in the 1800 block of Ashby Avenue late Friday night, they turned up a bonanza. Not only was the motorist driving on a suspended license, but he was also packing a firearm—a double felony, considering he’s also an ex-felon.›