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Man Killed in Robbery Attempt near Ashby BART in South Berkeley

By Bay City News and Planet sources
Monday September 13, 2010 - 08:58:00 PM

Police in Berkeley are asking for the public's help identifying a suspect who shot and killed a man walking home with his fiancee after a party in the city early Sunday morning.

An Associated Press report in the San Jose Mercury News said that the victim was a 35-year-old Chilean man who had moved to California to be with his American-born fiancee.  

Berkeley police officer Jamie Perkins told the AP that Adolfo Ignacio Celedon was shot several times as he and his girlfriend, a UC Berkeley graduate student, were walking home from a party early Sunday, which was his birthday. He died in a hospital later that day. 

The couple were walking near Adeline and Emerson streets at around 3:40 a.m. when they were approached by two male suspects who tried to rob them, Berkeley police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said earlier, 

During the crime, one of the suspects shot the victim and punched the victim's fiancee. The woman suffered minor injuries. 

The victim, who had reportedly moved to Berkeley in February, was taken to a trauma center by fire department paramedics. 

The suspects got into a two-tone older model sport utility vehicle and drove away, traveling west on Ashby Avenue. 

Police did not release the victim's name to the local press pending notification of his family and confirmation of his identity by the Alameda County coroner's bureau. 

The Berkeley Police Department is urging anyone who might have knowledge of the homicide or the suspects to contact the police homicide unit at (510) 981-5741 or the 24-hour police non-emergency number (510) 981-5900. Calls can be made anonymously at (800) 222-TIPS.