Features

Three Robberies in an Hour

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday October 09, 2008 - 09:26:00 AM

Berkeley residents were targeted in three armed robberies that took place within 57 minutes of each other last week, police report. 

The first incident was reported at 8:37 p.m. on Sept. 30, when two victims had their wallets taken by three people, at least one armed with a pistol, near the corner of Shattuck and Indian Rock avenues, Berkeley police reported. 

Just a minute later, campus police reported a car with two men inside pulled alongside a UC Berkeley student walking in the 1700 block of La Loma Avenue. The passenger jumped out of the car, pointed a gun at the student and demanded her backpack. 

“The victim was either pushed or lost her footing and fell to the ground,” according to the campus police bulletin. The fallen student lashed out with her foot at the startled robber, who promptly fled back to the car, which then sped away. Police said the woman received minor injuries during the attack. 

The suspect, a 20-something clad in black, departed in “a sporty silver car with a spoiler.” 

The third robbery, a stickup near the corner of King Street and Ashby Avenue, was reported at 9:34 p.m. According to the Berkeley Police Department daily bulletin, the robbers were two men in their 20s. 

Whether they were actually armed remains in question, since they acted as if they were holding guns but did not take their hands out of their pockets.