Features

Arson Repeated at Mental Health Center

By Rio Bauce
Friday July 13, 2007

In the past week, there have been two arson attempts at the Berkeley Mental Health Center at 2640 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The first attempt was on Saturday, July 7, and the second was on Monday, July 9.  

The first incident took place at 11:51 p.m. on Saturday night via an unknown liquid accelerant. There was minor damage to the side door on the Derby Street side of the facility. No suspect information was recovered. 

The second incident occurred late Monday night. A person was seen running away from the facility. They used a liquid similar to the one used on Saturday night to ignite flames in three separate areas outside the office. An extensive search was done after the incident but to no avail, said Lt. Wesley Hester, spokesperson for the Berkeley Police Department.  

Police released a suspect description: a black female with a light complexion, wearing light gray sweat top and pants, a headdress, and riding a skateboard, possibly with a backpack.