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Five-time Felon Charged in Berkeley Sexual Assault

Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Tuesday May 08, 2018 - 09:39:00 AM

A five-time felon who was previously convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse was charged today with six felony counts for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Berkeley last month. Alphonzo McInnis, 27, of Berkeley, was arraigned today for the alleged April 19 sexual assault and is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday.  

McInnis, who is being held without bail, is charged with two counts of forcible rape of a minor, forcible sexual penetration on a minor, oral copulation of a minor, two counts of attempted second-degree robbery and kidnapping enhancements for his alleged attack on the girl.  

Berkeley police Officer Darren Kacalek wrote in a probable cause statement that on April 15 the 15-year-old girl had overslept and as she walked to school in the 1500 block of Addison Street near Sacramento Street a male suspect grabbed her from behind, pressed a gun into her side and told her not to scream or look at him or he would shoot her.  

Kacalek said the suspect then led the girl to the backyard of a nearby residence, where he groped her and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.  

Kacalek wrote that when the assault was finally over the suspect "wiped down the victim, seemingly in an attempt to remove evidence," and then told her to walk away east on Addison Street and not to look back at him.  

The girl then walked several blocks to Berkeley High School, where she told school staff what happened to her and got assistance, Kacalek said.  

DNA evidence later connected McInnis to the sexual assault and he was arrested in the 1900 block of University Avenue in Berkeley at about 2:15 p.m. last Thursday, according to Kacalek.  

McInnis also was arrested for an alleged attempted sexual assault on an 18-year-old University of California at Berkeley student near a dormitory in the 2400 block of College Avenue at about 4:30 a.m. on April 28 but the Alameda County District Attorney's Office didn't charge him for that incident.  

Kacalek wrote that after the second incident, "due to the rarity of these types of attacks, I believed them to be related, as the method of operation was very similar."  

Prosecutors say that McInnis was convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse in Contra Costa County in 2008. They also say McInnis' most recent conviction was in Alameda County on Jan. 28, 2015, for second-degree robbery for robbing six gas stations on University Avenue in Berkeley.  

In addition, prosecutors say McInnis has three other prior convictions in Contra Costa County: for second-degree burglary in 2011, possession of a firearm by a felon in 2013 and grand theft of a firearm in 2012.