Features

Upside the head 

A Sept. 5 dispute between a 57-year-old Berkeley man and a house guest who’d overstayed his welcome ended in arrests for both, reports Officer Galvan. 

When the resident’s rhetorical powers proved inadequate to induce his 59-year-old visitor to leave his abode in the 3200 block of Ellis Street, he resorted to the proverbial blunt instrument—in this case, a skillet. 

Police were summoned at 7 a.m., and promptly clapped cuffs on the pan-wielder, busting him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. But a quick computer check ended in an arrest for the victim as well, who turned out to be the subject of a plethora of arrest warrants. 

Son bashes dad 

A 62-year-old Berkeley man was hospitalized on the 5th after he was beaten by a young man armed with a section of pipe. 

A caller who reported seeing “a man covered in blood” summoned police to the 1300 block of Hearst Avenue at 7:05 p.m. 

Officer Galvan said the man had been apparently been attacked by his 18-year-old son, who fled the scene in a white sedan. 

The victim was taken to an emergency room for treatment of his injuries. 

Robbery bust 

An 18-year-old Berkeley man was booked on suspicion of robbery after he purportedly strong-armed a small amount of cash from a 32-year-old San Francisco man in the 2100 block of Shattuck about 30 minutes after the pipe attack. 

Heist by punch 

An early morning pedestrian received an unpleasant surprise as he was walking near the corner of Derby and Fulton streets minutes after 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 9—a punch in the eye . 

The blow was inflicted by a woman who had just sprung out of her car before striking the 25-year-old Santa Barbara man. 

She then robbed him of his wallet, cell phone and keys before driving off. 

Rat pack heist 

A gang of four or five young men, each clad in a hoodie, forced an 18-year-old UC Berkeley student to hand over his wallet when they strong-armed him as he walked near the corner of Durant Street and Dana Avenue just before 2:30 a.m. on the 9th.  

Pushy bandit 

A 68-year-old Berkeley woman was shoved to the ground by a woman who then absconded with her purse. 

The incident happened on Addison Street near the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way about 2:30 p.m. on the 10th. 

The woman was taken to an emergency room for treatment of minor injuries sustained in the attack. 

At knife point 

A 49-year-old homeless was man was robbed by a knife-brandishing 30-something bandit clad in jeans and a white T-shirt outside the Shattuck Cinemas about 3:50 p.m. on the 11th, said Officer Galvan. 

Rat packers again 

Another rat pack crew, this one consisting of four fellows ages 14 and 15, stole the purse of a 55-year-old Berkeley woman as she walked along the 500 block of Hazel Street at midnight on the 13th. 

The woman said two of the crew were clad in the inevitable hoodies. 

Cried for help 

Alarmed to hear a woman calling for help, a citizen called police a minute after midnight on the 14th. 

Moment later, officers found a 19-year-old Berkeley woman who had just been relieved of her wallet and cell phone by a strong-arm robber. 

A quick search turned up not only a suspect—a 47-year-old Richmond man—but the young woman’s missing property as well. 

The suspect was cuffed and carted off to contemplate his sins in the city lockup. 

Campus carjacking 

A pair of carjackers packing at least one pistol robbed two UC Berkeley students parked behind Memorial Stadium Tuesday night, then made off with their car. 

According to a crime alert issued by UC Berkeley Police Chief Victoria L. Harrison, the couple—a 20-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman—were sitting in the car about 11:30 p.m. when the bandits appeared on either side of the car. One pointed a pistol at the man, who was sitting behind the wheel, and ordered him out of the car, then demanded his valuables while the second bandit, sans pistol, did the same with the young woman. Valuables in hand, the pistol-packer told the pair to start walking down the hill. Both suspects were clad in hoodies.