Break-in Robbery Crime-Spree Suspect Charged on 19 Counts

Edgar James, whom police say committed a one-day crime spree Feb. 14 that began with two break-in robberies in El Cerrito, was charged with 19 felony counts in Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Edgar James, 32, who was captured in Richmond Feb. 14 after what police describe as a day-long crime spree that began with two home break-ins in El Cerrito, has been arraigned on 19 felony counts, Bay City News reported Wednesday. James allegedly smashed in the front doors of two homes on King Drive, assaulting the resident of one home and stealing a car from the other, police said. Kensington police spotted him driving another car that had been carjacked from a Kensington resident, but he eluded a police chase by driving along a fire trail in the Hillside Nature Area, according to police. After crimes in Martinez and Vallejo, he allegedly stole a police car in Richmond after he'd been cornered by police and led police on a chase across …

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Berkeley Killing: Police Address Questions, Suspect is Grandson of Former Councilman from Alameda

Berkeley police said a protest prevented them from responding to an initial, non-emergency call for help from the man who was fatally attacked minutes later by an intruder. The suspect is the grandson of a former Alameda city councilman.

Following questions raised about the police response in the Saturday night slaying of Berkeley hills man by a trespasser, Berkeley police today, Monday, said they were unable to comply with the resident's initial, non-emergency request for help because available officers were needed to monitor a protest march. Also today, Alameda Patch reported that the suspect arrested in the case, Daniel Jordan Dewitt, 23, of Alameda, is the grandson of the late Al DeWitt, an Alameda civic leader and former city councilman who also served as vice mayor and acting mayor. The Berkeley resident who was killed had called police to report a "strange person on his property" and asked for an officer to respond, police said. After the call, the man was fatally …

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Charles Burress

12:40 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Late today Berkeley police provided further details on on the timeline: "At approximately 8:45 PM, BPD received a report of a suspicious person possibly trespassing. The caller reported an encounter with an unknown person “hanging around” his property, and asked that an officer be sent to investigate. This call for service was queued for dispatch. "At that time, available Patrol teams were being …   more ›

Trespasser Kills Berkeley Hills Resident, Suspect Arrested

A trespasser killed a Berkeley man outside his home at Shasta Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard Saturday night, and a suspect was arrested less than a block away, police said.

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, …

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Hank

7:18 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The 'occupy idiots' were not breaking any laws! The prowler in the hills was trespassing. That's breaking the law. The cops should investigate an actual crime in progress, no matter how minor it may seem, before they waste taxpayer money 'monitoring' law abiding citizens. In fact, I think a society in which police deliberately spend more of their resources on monitoring ordinary citizens than …   more ›

Armed Robbers in Ski Masks Strike in Albany

Two masked men with a gun robbed an Albany man about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday night on the sidewalk on Portland Avenue at Sante Fe Avenue in Albany.

Rash of Auto Break-ins El Cerrito

At least eight vehicles were broken into last night or early this morning, Wednesday, in central El Cerrito, police said.

Eight vehicles were broken into and items were stolen in central El Cerrito last night or early this morning, Wednesday, according to El Cerrito police. The thefts occurred in the general area of eastern Gladys Avenue and nearby Scott Street, said El Cerrito police Lt. Paul Keith. That area is near the northeast corner of Castro Park. The burglar or burglars gained entry to the vehicles by smashing the windows instead of opening the doors, thus not triggering car alarms that depend on doors being opened, Keith said. Police learned of the crimes when alerted by residents this morning, Keith said. "The main preventive measure is to remove items from your car that are visible from the outside," he said. Some of the vehicles had items that …

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Home Invasion Robberies, Carjacking in El Cerrito, Kensington – Robber Escapes

A robber kicked in the front door of two homes in El Cerrito and stole two cars, one from a Kensington resident at gunpoint, and escaped after a police pursuit this morning, Tuesday, police said.

A robber kicked in the front doors of two homes in the El Cerrito hills this morning, Tuesday, and stole two cars, one at gunpoint, before eluding police after a pursuit, police said. The spree began at 9:04 a.m. when the police dispatch center received a report of prowler in the backyard of home on Baron Court, El Cerrito police said in a news release. The prowler went to the front door, knocked and asked to come inside, but the resident refused and called police, police said. The prowler climbed over a back fence into the Hillside Nature Area. Officers arriving on the scene were told by another resident, of King Drive, that a robber kicked down that resident's front door, assaulted the resident and stole the resident's property, …

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El Cerrito Police Dog, King, Dies From Sudden Illness

El Cerrito's police dog, King, died around midnight last night from a "catastrophic and unavoidable internal malady," police said today, Saturday. He died after showing signs of distress yesterday.

El Cerrito's popular police dog, King, died from a sudden illness, police said in a news release late today, Saturday. "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of El Cerrito Police K-9 King," said the release prepared by Lt. Paul Keith. He was El Cerrito's first police dog, having joined the deparment in the fall of 2010. While off-duty on Friday, King "began showing signs of physical distress," police said. His handler, Officer Joshua Del Prado, took him to a vet's office, where emergency surgery was performed to try to identify what was wrong. "Once surgery was performed, it became clear that King had suffered a catastrophic and unavoidable internal malady ... which medical care could not repair," the release said. "King’s …

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Burglarly Suspect Captured on Roof in El Cerrito

A man suspected of trying to break into a business on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito early Sunday morning was captured by police on a rooftop of a nearby business, police said Thursday.

El Cerrito police captured a 46-year-old burglary suspect on a rooftop early Sunday morning, police said Thursday. Responding to an audible alarm about 2:40 a.m., police spotted a suspected would-be burglar on the roof of a business in the 10000 block of San Pablo Avenue, according to a police news release titled "Rooftop Burglar Caught In the Act." Officers established a perimeter around business and found the man trying to hide from officers on a nearby roof. The man, a transient, was arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary and transported to the county jail in Martinez, police said. The case number is 12-01926.

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