Police in Berkeley are investigating a homicide that took place in the city on Saturday night.
Officers responded to a home near Shasta Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard after a woman called to report a suspicious person trespassing near her garage, according to Berkeley police.
The woman's husband reportedly went outside to confront the suspect when he was assaulted, police said. The man was treated at the scene by the first police officer before being taken to a local trauma center by Berkeley Fire Department paramedics, police said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Berkeley police have not released the victim's identity, but the San Francisco Chronicle reported that according to property records and neighbors, Peter Cukor, 67, owned the home where the slaying occurred.
San Francisco Chronicle reported that the victim first called a non-emergency line, but that no officers responded because they were tied up monitoring Occupy protests. The victim's wife dialed 911 after she heard him cry for help and saw the suspect hitting him on the head with a potted plant.
While officers were conducting an investigation in the neighborhood where the alleged assault occurred, a man was seen in the area who matched the suspect description. Daniel Jordan Dewitt, 23, of Alameda, was detained and subsequently arrested for murder, police said. Dewitt is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
Daniel Dewitt's mother, Candy Dewitt, told the San Francisco Chronicle, that her son had a history of mental illness. He is the grandson of Albert Dewitt, Alameda's first African-American mayor.
The killing marks Berkeley's second homicide of 2012.
Anyone who might have information regarding the case is asked to contact Berkeley police at (510) 981-5741.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
