Features

Arson 

At 11:51 p.m. on Saturday, someone called in to report that a small fire had been started at the entrance of the Berkeley Mental Health Center at Derby and MLK. Someone left an unknown accelerant at the door when the building was closed and damaged a portion of the entrance. No suspects have been identified. 

Spousal abuse 

On Saturday at 6:20 p.m., a man assaulted his wife, both in their 30s, on the 1500 block of Alcatraz Avenue. After the incident, the woman received an emergency protective order against her husband. No injuries were indicated in the report. 

Burglary 

At 10:12 p.m. on Friday, two Berkeley residents phoned the police to report that two laptops, a camera, and an MP3 player had been stolen from their home on the 2200 block of Haste. No suspects are in custody. 

Auto burglary via key 

At 11:30 a.m. on Friday, a car owner called in to report that their car had been broken into with a stolen key and their FasTrak transponder had been taken while they were parking at the Alta Bates Medical Center on Milvia at Dwight. Police believe that the suspect is a parking attendant, said Lt. Wes Hester, spokesman for the Berkeley Police Department. 

Paintball attack 

On Thursday at 12:21 p.m., a woman called in to report that she had been struck with a paintball gun on the 900 block of Shattuck. There are no suspects in this case. 

Double robberies 

On Thursday at midnight, two men and one woman were walking on the 2000 block of Shattuck, when they were stopped and robbed via gun. The suspects took cash, coupons, and a credit card. Six minutes later, at Durant and Shattuck, a man was stopped and robbed via strong arm. The suspects took his cell phone. Lt. Hester says that police believe that suspects performed both robberies due to the similar time and close proximity of the robberies.