Features

Berkeley Heist Leads to Serial Robber Bust 

Things went badly wrong for the armed robber who flashed his pistol at a clerk at the Mail & More at 1476 University Ave. just after 1:15 p.m. Monday. Not only did he fail to collect any loot, but Berkeley police developed information linking the gunman to an address in the 1400 block of West 12th Street in West Oakland. 

What made the case especially interesting to Berkeley and Oakland Police was that the robber’s description matches that of the man who had staged a series of 13 or more other heists in recent weeks—most of them in Berkeley. 

BPD spokesperson Officer Joe Okies said Berkeley set up a stakeout at the residence, and were spelled by Oakland officers who made the arrest after 27-year-old Billy Carter left the house later that night to enter his car. 

Carter was arrested without incident, and detectives in both venues are preparing cases to hand to the Alameda County District Attorney’s office. 

Father Orders Son To Return Stolen Cash 

When a Berkeley father learned that his son had robbed a man at gunpoint Monday, he ordered the youth to return the cash. 

The minor youth still had to deal with police, who booked him on charges of armed robbery. 

Neighborhood Spat Takes Violent Turn 

A disagreement between two neighbors who lived near Hearst and Sixth Street took a violent turn Monday afternoon. One neighbor used a fist, while the other resorted to a bat. Yet when officers arrived, no one wanted to press charges. 

Octogenarian Arrested for Spousal Abuse 

An 80-year-old South Berkeley man was arrested for spousal abuse and threatening great bodily injury on his mate after police were summoned to the couple’s home. The case is still under investigation, and Officer Okies said that “to say that circumstances are unclear is an understatement.” 

High Noon Scissors Attack 

Officers rushed to the corner of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue at two minutes ‘til noon Tuesday, where they found a man bleeding for a scissors assault by another man, apparently known to the victim. 

Police are seeking a bald African American man in his twenties who stands about 6’2” and weighs about 150 pounds. 

Blotter Writer’s Plate Boosted 

It was, appropriately, Berkeley Police Officer Marty Heist who answered the call of a certain police blotter writer just after 10 a.m. Monday to take his report of the theft of the rear license plate from his Plymouth Neon, plus a batch of CDs and a flashlight.