El Cerrito Police Blotter: Heroin; Warrants; Drunken Driving

The El Cerrito Police Department released the following reports of recent police activity on Wednesday, March 19:

March 10: 

Warrant Arrest and Possession of a Controlled Substance- San Pablo Ave. at Tehama Ave. 

• At 4:16 p.m., an officer arrested a 60-year-old Richmond resident for being in possession of heroin and two outstanding Contra Costa County warrants. The man was booked at the ECPD and then transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 12:12 p.m., the victim was riding her bicycle along the BART path when an unknown subject grabbed the victim’s purse and demanded for her to hand it over. The relinquished her purse and the suspect fled the scene. The suspect is described as an African American male in his twenties wearing all black clothing. 

• At 9:13 p.m., ECPD officers were dispatched to assist a motorist who was having difficulty dealing with a passenger who was suffering from a mental health issue. Officers arrived on scene, located the female and determined she was in need of a mental health evaluation. An ambulance responded to the scene and transported the female to the Contra Costa County Regional Medical Center in Martinez. 

• At 11:03 p.m., officers were dispatched to a residence to assist a person who was intoxicated and was suffering from a mental health issue. Officers arrived on scene and made arrangements for the person to be transported to the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez. 

• At 12:32 a.m., an officer arrested a 24-year-old Oakland man for driving under the influence of alcohol. The man was booked at the ECPD and then released to a sober party. 

• At 11:45 a.m., officers were dispatched to Lucky on the report of an unknown subject who stole the wheels from a bike which was locked in front of the store. While en route to the scene officers contacted Damian Adams of El Cerrito and found him to be in possession of the stolen wheels. Adams was booked at the ECPD and then transported to Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 5:40 p.m., an officer was dispatched to Safeway for a report of a 16-year-old female who had been caught shoplifting by store security. The child’s mother refused to pick her up and arrangements had to be made to turn the child over to the appropriate county agency. In an unrelated matter, a 21-year-old Bay Point woman was arrested for an outstanding warrant at the same location and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• Between 9:45 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., an unknown suspect smashed the rear passenger window of the victim’s vehicle and stole a soft briefcase bag. 

• At 11:57 a.m. an officer arrested a 62-year-old El Cerrito man on an outstanding Contra Costa County warrant. The man was transported directly to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 12:13 p.m., the ECFD responded to the High School after School Resource officers reported a fire in a bathroom in building “C”. Fire engines and trucks from the ECFD and RFD responded and were able to extinguish the fire within minutes upon arriving on scene. The school was briefly evacuated and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire still remains under investigation at this time. 

• At 3:40 p.m., an officer conducted a traffic enforcement stop on a vehicle for a violation. During the contact the officer determined the passenger was on probation for a theft related offense. A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of nearly 10 ounces of a crack/cocaine with an approximately street value of ten thousand dollars. Officers arrested 42-year-old man and a 56-year-old men who both reside in the City of Richmond. Both subjects were booked at the ECPD and then transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 7:29 p.m., Officers were dispatched to the area for a group of juveniles that stole a turnout coat from inside a fire truck. A witness in the area saw and followed the suspects matching that description run into the 700 block of Elm St. Officers conducted a neighborhood canvas and were able to locate the turnout coat inside a residence. Officers then traveled to Kensington where they arrested an 18-year-old El Cerrito man and a 19-year-old Richmond male for the crime both of which were later transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. A third suspect, a 14-year-old juvenile, was identified and later confessed to his involvement in the crime. 

• At 9:27 p.m., the victim reported that he had lost his cell phone at Off the Grid function. The victim returned home and used the “find my iphone” app and learned the phone was currently in a parking lot in San Pablo. An officer responded to the location and found a vehicle with off the grid to-go containers inside and saw the cell phone was pinging in that location. The registered owner of the vehicle was contacted in an adjacent residence and the phone was recovered. 

• At 3:18 a.m., officers were dispatched to a report that a citizen had caught a suspect inside the trunk of his neighbor’s car and attempted to detain him. The suspect fled southbound on Lawrence St. The suspect is described as a black male adult, 35-45 years old, medium build, dark complexion, with short cropped hair, carrying a pen light.

• Sometime between Thursday, March 13 at 8 p.m. and Friday, March 14 900 a.m., an unknown suspect broke the rear driver side window of the victim’s vehicle and stole coins from the center console. 

• At 9:55 a.m., during a pedestrian contact, an El Cerrito police officer arrested a 43 year old from San Pablo, for possession of .41 grams of methamphetamines and a glass meth pipe. 

• At 4:46 p.m., an El Cerrito police officer accepted the citizen’s arrest of a 35-year-old male from Richmond after he was caught stealing miscellaneous items from Lucky. Since the male had at least three other theft related arrest, with jail time served, this arrest was a felony arrest. The male was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 10:56 p.m., officers responded to the report of a subject trying to break into houses. The suspect, a 24-year-old male was found intoxicated and curled up in the stairway of the apartments. He was found to be extremely intoxicated. He was booked, became resistive and was transported to the MDF. 

• At approximately 10:48 a.m., during a pedestrian stop, an El Cerrito police officer arrested a 24-year-old male from Richmond on a vandalism warrant from Alameda County. The male was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and released on a citation. 

• At 1:54p.m. during a vehicle stop, an El Cerrito police officer arrested a 44-year-old male from Mill Valley on a no bail Marin County Warrant. The male was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 3:11 p.m., during a traffic stop, an El Cerrito police officer arrested a 46-year-old female passenger from Richmond, for possession of credit cards and California I.D.’s that did not belong to her. The officer was unable to make contact with the owners of the cards at the time of the arrest. The female was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and released on a citation. 

• At 12:14 a.m., an officer arrested a 30-year-old male Richmond resident on a felony warrant. The male was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility. 

•  At 214 a.m., a 40-year-old El Cerrito resident was arrested for a $240K warrant during a pedestrian stop. The male was booked and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 2:40 a.m., an officer arrested a 40-year-old Berkeley resident for driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. The man was booked and released on a citation. 

• At 9:42 p.m., bicycle patrol officers located an unoccupied stolen Honda Accord parked in the parking lot of the Super 8 Motel. Surveillance on the vehicle was set up and shortly thereafter, 18-year-old, female and a 15-year-old female were arrested getting into the vehicle and attempting to drive away. The 18-year-old female was booked and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. The 15 year old was booked and released to a parent. 

• At 3:14 p.m., during a pedestrian contact, an El Cerrito police officer arrested 50-year-old male from San Pablo on a warrant out of Contra Costa County. The male was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 1:09 a.m. an officer contacted a 33-year-old Richmond resident during a traffic stop. The man was found to be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and driving on a suspended license. He also had a Contra Costa County warrant for driving on a suspended license and an Alameda County warrant for DUI. He was booked and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• At 12:32 hp.m., during a traffic stop, an El Cerrito police officer arrested a 28-year-old male from El Sobrante on a no bail warrant out of Newark PD for assault. The male was booked at the El Cerrito Police Department and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility. 

• On Sunday March 16th at 1:35 p.m., 52-year-old female victim, went to her old residence to gather her belongs from her soon-to-be ex-husband’s house. A verbal argument ensued and her 52-year-old husband grabbed her and pushed her to the ground. The victim suffered minor bruising to her arm. 

• Between March 14 to March 17, unknown suspect(s) cut an open a cyclone fence with an unknown object and entered the construction project. The suspect(s) stole construction tools that are used to supply temporary power for all the tradesmen. 

• While patrolling the area an officer spotted a subject, 21-year-old male Richmond resident, running east across I-80. The subject climbed down a sound wall into the Home Depot lot. The male was then shortly detained and arrested for being drunk in public.