Nov. 18 – Dec 1: El Cerrito Police Calls

The following is a sampling of the El Cerrito Police Calls reported between November 18 – December 1 which focuses on the higher priority call responses in the City of El Cerrito.

Battery

• 11/22 – 11090 San Pablo Ave (Nation’s):  At 3:23 AM, the victim bumped into another employee, a 44 year old El Cerrito man, with a pie cart.  The man punched the victim in the eye in return.  The pair have had prior altercations that Nation’s management is reluctant to handle, so the manager suggested calling the police.  The victim desired prosecution.

Burglary

12/1 – 3300 block of Belmont Ave. – At 3:48 AM, the caller advised he heard noises coming from outside his apartment. While officers were en-route, the caller updated that an unknown suspect stuck their hand inside one of his opened windows. Officers located an unsecured laundry room door. The lock on the coin box of the washer appeared to have been tampered with.

Burglary – Commercial

• 11/23 – 4010 El Cerrito Plaza (AT&T):  At 3:00 AM, an unidentified suspect shattered the front door glass with an unknown tool.  4 Apple watches and 4 iPhones were stolen from displays, worth approximately $6000.
• 11/24 – 11785 San Pablo Ave (Launderland):  At 7:44 PM, an officer accepted the citizen’s arrest of a 44 year old San Mateo man after he was captured on the laundromat cameras breaking in to the locked office area and pocketing several packs of laundry detergent worth approximately $5.  Once his identity was confirmed, the man was field cited.

Child Abuse

• 11/23 – 1000 El Cerrito Plaza:At 8:00 PM, the 3 year old victim was at Lucky with her mother and the mother’s cousin, a 37 year old Berkeley man.  The victim and suspect briefly walked to another part of the store, and when they returned two minutes later, the victim’s hoodie string was wrapped tightly around her neck several times.  The suspect claimed the child put the string around her neck herself, but the mother believed it was the suspect who did so, although she did not see it happen.  After driving the suspect home, and upon returning home to Berkeley several hours later, mom noticed the child had abrasions and ligature marks around her neck from the string and decided to call the police to report the incident.  Mom was upset when she learned ECPD were not going to Berkeley to arrest the suspect immediately based solely on her statement, and stopped answering calls after that.

DUI

• 11/19 – Richmond St/Potrero Ave: At 6:05 PM, officers responded to a property damage collision. Witnesses reported seeing the driver colliding with two parked vehicles.  During the investigation, officers determined the driver was under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. The 32 year-old female from El Cerrito was placed under arrest and transported to the El Cerrito PD for booking. After booking, she was released on a citation to a relative.
• 12/1 – San Pablo Ave / Hill St:  At 11:45 PM, BART PD handed off a DUI arrest to El Cerrito PD because the event did not occur on BART property.  The 36 year old Richmond man was found to have a warrant for his arrest out of San Mateo County.  He was arrested on the warrant.  The DUI arrest was based upon the observations of the BART Sergeant.  Blood draw at ECPD.  Cited for the warrant, and transported to the county jail for the DUI when he was unable to secure a ride.  A report from BART will be forthcoming.

Drunk in Public

• 11/19 – 10422 San Pablo Ave. (parking lot):  Around 9:20 PM, officers were dispatched to the area for a suspicious circumstance. Upon arrival, officers located a 34-year-old female from Vallejo, being detained by friends and co-workers. The female was visibly intoxicated and they were trying to prevent her from driving. While waiting for a relative to take custody of her, the female became belligerent and combative with officers.  The female was placed under arrest and transported directly to the Martinez Detention Facility.

Grand Theft

• 11/19 – 11545 San Pablo Ave. (Ross):  At 8:09 PM, an officer reports three male suspects stole over $2000 in coats. They were last seen leaving in a tan or silver Ford F-150 pick-up truck.
• 11/30 – 7600 block of Stockton Ave. – At 6:00 PM, an officer reports unknown suspect(s) stole the catalytic converter from the victim’s 2014 Toyota Prius. The theft occurred between 11/29 @10:00 PM to 11/30 @5:00 PM.

Organized Retail Theft

• 11/21 – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross):At 7:56 PM, four suspects entered the store together and worked in concert to steal merchandise.  The two female suspects pushed a cart around the store and filled it with merchandise totaling approximately $500, then placed it near the doors.  One of the females went to a register and paid for a few items, presumably to create a distraction, then the two male suspects ran out with the cart, loaded the items into their vehicle and fled.
• 11/25 – 11545 San Pablo Ave – At 9:26 PM, an officer reports three suspects entered the store and stole over $1000 worth of jackets.

Petty Theft

• 11/23 – 1400 block of Everett St:At 7:37 PM, an officer reports a package containing a $100 watch was stolen off the porch at 3:00 PM and the theft was captured on video.  The suspects were two Hispanic male teens who appeared to be students at the Middle School.  The officer will facilitate follow up next week when the school is back in session after Thanksgiving break.
• 11/30 – 400 block of Clayton Ave. – At 3:00 AM, the victim advised the suspect was breaking into his vehicle. The suspect was last seen pushing a shopping cart towards Fairmount Ave. An officer located a 47 year old El Cerrito man walking on Albemarle/Central. The man was pushing a shopping cart full of items. Initially the victim declined a report, but changed his mind after he was told the man was in possession of his checkbook that was left in his unlocked vehicle. Other items found in the shopping cart included a portable air pump, tools and a cash register lockbox. The lockbox appears similar to the one taken from the Baskin Robbins burglary two weeks ago. The man does not fit the description of the burglary suspect. The officer sent a photo of the register lockbox to the owner of Baskin Robbins to see if it belongs to his business. As of this writing the owner has not responded. The items were held for observation. The suspect was booked at the ECPD and released on a citation.
• 12/1 – 11555 San Pablo Ave (DD’s Discounts) – At 8:05 PM, an officer reports the victim left her purse in the DD’s Discounts store while shopping.  When she realized she was missing the purse, she returned to DD’s to inquire if they had it.  A male employee, who was later seen on video holding the purse in his hand behind the counter while speaking with the victim, told her the purse was not there.  This same employee later walked in to the store with the purse in hand and claimed to have found it outside near a car.  The victim’s wallet was missing from inside the purse.  The employee was temporarily assigned from another store for the day, and did not normally work at this store.  The employee has been identified and the investigation is ongoing.

Robbery

• 11/18 – 11450 San Pablo Ave. (Safeway): At 6:56 PM, an officer reports two suspects left the store with unpaid merchandise. When an employee attempted to stop the suspects by opening the suspect’s vehicle door, the female suspect hit the employee several times with her cell phone and fist. The suspects fled the scene in a blue Honda sedan northbound San Pablo Ave. towards Eastshore Blvd.
• 11/21 – BART Path / Blake St: At 9:04 PM, the victim was approached from behind while walking southbound on the BART path, and was hit in the back of the head with what she believed to be a skateboard.  The unidentified suspect then took her purse, containing her cell phone, and fled on foot eastbound on Blake Street.  The victim went to Safeway and waited 35 minutes to call the police.  She did not have any visible injuries and declined medical attention.
• 11/22 – 5200 block of Potrero Ave (attempted robbery): At 10:55 PM, two suspects attempted to steal the victim’s car keys from his pocket.  When he resisted, the suspects dragged him down the middle of the street until a security light on a nearby house scared them off.  Both suspects fled eastbound on Potrero.  The suspects were described as black male teens, and one was wearing a blue sweatshirt.  The victim could not provide any additional description.  No loss.
• 11/25 – Lucky, 1000 El Cerrito Plaza – At 6:28 PM, an officer reports an employee was informed of a chronic thief being in the store. When the male suspect attempted to leave the business with unpaid merchandise, the employee blocked his path. The employee attempted to recover the merchandise from the suspect’s pants pocket, he was pushed to the ground and punched. The victim suffered a laceration above the left eye and scrapes on his knuckles. An officer arrived on scene and detained the suspect standing IFO at the business. During a records check, the suspect was found to have an outstanding no-cite warrant out of San Mateo County. The suspect was booked at the ECPD and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility.
• 11/27 – 11687 San Pablo Ave. – At approximately 1:28pm the suspect entered the store, pointed a black semiautomatic handgun at the victim and demanded the money from the cash register.  The victim gave the suspect $200.00 from the registered and, the suspect fled southbound on San Pablo Ave., in a black colored newer model 4-door Chevy Impala. The suspect was described as a white female or light skinned Hispanic female adult, in her 20’s, 4’11”, 150lbs., wearing a black hoodie, black surgical facemask, and dark gray pants.

Shoplift

• 12/1 – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross):  At 9:42 PM, an unidentified suspect entered Ross, selected about $50 worth of merchandise and left without paying.  The suspect was described as a white male with tattoos on his face, wearing a ski mask, black puffy jacket and grey pants.  The suspect was also wearing distinctive grey Nike shoes with a green “Swoosh” and green laces.

Tampering With Vehicle

• 11/18 – 6700 Block of Kenilworth Ave:  At 2:02 AM, an officer reports three suspects arrived in a white Dodge Charger and raised the victim’s Prius up with a jack. The victim turned on the light on his porch and the suspects fled.
• 11/27 – 6800 Block of Gladys Ave. – At 3:19 AM, an officer reports a citizen heard the sound of metal being cut in front of his residence. When he looked outside, he noticed a vehicle idling in the middle of the roadway. Moments later the vehicle fled in an unknown direction. Officers arrived on scene and located the victim’s vehicle with damage to the exhaust system near the catalytic converter

Vandalism

• 11/18 – 1800 Elm St. (K2 Summit School):  At 7:25 PM, an officer reports the victim was leaving K2 Summit School when several juveniles started throwing rocks at her vehicle causing damage.
• 11/21 – 2000 El Cerrito Plaza (Ross):  An unidentified suspect shattered the right front window of the victim vehicle.  The registered owner was notified, but could not come to the scene to determine a loss.
• 11/27 – El Cerrito Plaza – At approximately 4:32pm, the victim was driving on San Pablo Ave near Carlson Blvd., when he confronted several juveniles riding their bicycles in front of him.

Warrant Arrest

• 12/1 – Central Ave / Kearney St: At 9:47 PM, while circulating the area for the suspect in the above shoplift, an officer located a 30 year old Santa Maria man who closely matched the suspect description.  An in-field show up was negative, however it was determined the man had a warrant for his arrest for probation violation out of Santa Barbara County.  The man was transported to the county jail.