Features

Sisters Held in 1970 Killing of Berkeley Police Officer 

Two sisters—one said to be a substitute teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District—were in Berkeley City Jail Thursday, charged as accessories in the 34-year-old murder of a Berkeley policeman. 

Joyce Gaskin and Joy Hall, both Oakland residents, surrendered to police Tuesday after warrants were issued for their arrests in connection with the Aug. 20, 1970, slaying of Officer Ron Tsukamoto, BPD’s first Japanese-American officer and the first Berkeley policeman slain in the line of duty. 

Each was held in lieu of posting $250,000 bail.  

The arrests follow the May 24 arrest of Don Juan Graphenreed in his Fresno jail cell on charges of murder and conspiracy to murder in the Tsukamoto murder. 

The charges against Graphenreed, who was jailed on an unrelated burglary charge, were dropped two days later in a joint decision by Berkeley Police and the Alameda County District Attorney’s office. 

Graphenreed remains a suspect, police said. 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies said the two sisters currently face one charge each of violating California Penal Code section 22, which identifies accessories to a crime as anyone who knowingly harbors, aids, or conceals a felon. 

Okies said he could offer no more information about where Joyce Hall has taught in Berkeley. 

Published reports have linked Graphenreed and the two women with Black Panther activists during an era when inflammatory rhetoric was erupting in both the minority and law enforcement communities. 

Berkeley Man Charged in Kidnap, Sexual Assault  

A 45-year-old Berkeley man was charged with kidnap and assault with intent to commit rape after he grabbed a girl at Dwight Way and San Pablo Avenue shortly after 10 p.m. Monday. 

“The juvenile was walking into a store when he tried to abduct her,” said Officer Okies. 

The young woman was unharmed. 

Trio Charged with Serious Felonies 

Berkeley Police serving a search warrant on a residence at Blake and Milvia Streets Tuesday afternoon recovered quantities of rock cocaine packaged for sale, firearms, and a bulletproof vest—the latter a felony for a suspect on probation. A probation violation charge was also added to the mix. 

Two of the suspects were 24 years old and the third was a month shy of 21. ?