Features

Sexual predator strikes again 

The sexual predator who has attacked at least 11 women south of UC Berkeley's campus struck again early Friday morning, according to Berkeley police.  

Around 1 a.m., officers responded to a report of sexual battery on the 2100 block of Haste Street. A young woman told officers that the suspect approached her from behind and unsuccessfully tried to grab her dress. He fled the scene westbound on Durant, pursued by two witnesses. UCPD officers joined in the pursuit, but were unable to catch him. 

The suspect is described as a white male with short, dark wavy hair in his 20s about 5'10” tall and of medium build. 

Anyone with information about this suspect or wishing to report a similar crime should contact the Berkeley Sex Crimes Detail, at 981-5735. 

To report a crime in progress, call BPD dispatch at 981-5900 or 981-5911 from a cell phone. 

Attacked with a brick 

A Berkeley man was arrested Wednesday morning for attacking a female acquaintance with a brick. Around 9 a.m., police arrested 36-year-old Ronald Kidd on the 1400 block of 66th Street. According to police reports, Kidd and the young woman got into an argument, and when the disagreement escalated, Kidd struck her with a loose brick. Kidd is charged with assault with a deadly weapon. 

Solar panel theft 

On Feb. 19, the Berkeley Montessori School reported the theft of 20 solar panels from the roof of the school. School officials told police that the panels, which measure three by five feet, were taken sometime during the two weeks prior.  

String of robberies 

Four robberies took place across Berkeley on Friday. Shortly before 10 a.m., a middle-aged woman was robbed at gunpoint on the Ohlone Greenway at Franklin Street. The woman told police that she was on her way to the North Berkeley BART station when a teenage boy wearing a gray sweatshirt threatened her with a gun and took her purse. The boy was last seen running north on Acton Street. 

That afternoon, a 16-year-old boy had his iPhone stolen by two teenage boys and a girl at Shattuck Avenue and Delaware Street. Around 5:15 p.m. a 16-year-old girl wearing a pink jacket asked the boy if she could use his iPhone and ran away after he handed it over. When the boy gave chase, one of the teenage boys, who wore a brown jacket, slapped the victim across the side of his head, knocking him into a tree. The three assailants fled eastbound on Delaware Street. 

On the other side of town, a 36-year-old man was attacked and robbed while walking home from work in West Berkeley. Two young men wearing dark blue hooded sweatshirts approached him at 10th Street and Heinz and demanded his bag. One robber punched the man in his face, and his accomplice took his bag.  

Robbery is up throughout Berkeley since the beginning of the year, according to Officer Andrew Frankel. Most of the incidents have occurred near the UC Berkeley campus.