Extra

[Editor's Note: This BPD press release originally mentioned the race of the suspects at the point where they were spotted by the Oakland police. The racial adjective has been omitted by the Planet from this posting of the otherwise verbatim BPD press release because it adds nothing useful to the story, since race alone is not enough information to apprehend a suspect without additional descriptors.]

On 8/30/16 at 5:37pm, the Berkeley Police Communications Center received a report of a vehicle versus pedestrian collision near the intersection of California and Oregon Streets in south Berkeley. Officers responded to the scene and found an elderly female victim on the ground with life-threatening injuries. The victim was transported by the Berkeley Fire Department to the Alameda County Hospital where she underwent surgery for injuries and is expected to survive. Initial information was difficult to obtain from the victim due to a language barrier.

It was later determined what occurred was more than a case of hit and run. Through an interpreter the victim shared that as she parked her car an SUV pulled up next to her. She said that after she got out, someone punched her in the face and knocked her to the ground while someone else pulled her bag away from her.  

At some point, the victim said she found herself behind her car when one of the suspects backed into her (with the car) and dragged her for a short distance before she became dislodged. The two vehicles were last seen driving southbound on California Street towards Ashby Avenue. 

On 8/31/16 at approximately 8:20am, an Oakland resident called the Oakland Police Dispatch to report a suspicious vehicle had just been dumped in the mouth of a driveway on the 3000 block of Davis Street and four male juveniles were walking away from the car. Dispatch ran the license plate which had been flagged as the carjacking vehicle from the Berkeley case. Oakland Officers responded to the area and attempted to detain a group of four [racial adjective omitted by editor] juveniles who matched the description provided by the resident. The group then fled into the surrounding neighborhood. Two of the foursome were detained after an extensive block search and two remain at large. 

The two juveniles (both Oakland residents) were arrested and transported to the Berkeley Police Department where the investigation remains ongoing. We would like to extend our thanks to the men and women of the Oakland Police Department who conducted this morning’s block search which led to the apprehension. 

We are asking for the community's assistance with the furtherance of the investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Berkeley Police Department at (510) 981-5742 and can do so anonymously if they wish.