About 7:13 a.m., the victim was walking northbound in the area when two males approached him from behind, according to a UCPD crime alert released Tuesday. The two perpetrators demanded the victim’s property, and one showed him the handle of a handgun in his pocket.

The victim complied, and the perpetrators fled toward Hearst Avenue. The victim went to UCPD’s lobby in Sproul Hall 25 minutes later to report the incident.

The victim was not physically injured during the encounter. UCPD searched the area but was unable to locate the perpetrators.

According to the UCPD crime alert, the perpetrators are described as:

Perpetrator #1 – A black male, 18 to 20 years of age, 5’10,” with a medium build and some facial hair on chin, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants.

Perpetrator #2 – A black male, 20 to 23 years of age, 6’0,” with a slender build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants, carrying a black handgun.

Daphne Chen is a news editor. Contact her at daphnechen@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @dchen_dc.

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Kore Chan/Senior Staff

A UC Berkeley student was robbed at gunpoint near Moffitt Library on Sunday evening.

The incident marks the fourth robbery or attempted robbery to occur on campus or on property close to campus since Thursday.

In the Sunday robbery, a UC Berkeley student was walking west on University Drive about 9:11 p.m. when two males approached him, according to a UCPD crime alert released Monday.

One of the perpetrators walked up to the victim, pointed a black handgun at his chest and demanded his cellphone. Before he could comply, the perpetrator pushed the student to the ground. The student dropped his phone, one of the perpetrators picked it up and the two perpetrators fled north on the west side of Haviland Hall, according to the alert.

The armed robbery was the second of its kind this week, after an incident at the intersection of Berkeley Way and Oxford Street early Thursday morning, according to a UCPD crime alert released Thursday. About 5:30 a.m., an armed person struck a 57-year-old UC Berkeley affiliate. The woman fell to the ground, and the perpetrator took her purse and fled the scene.

Later that evening, a 19-year-old student was robbed in front of Unit 3’s Beverly Cleary residence hall while waiting at the shuttle pickup location on Channing Way, according to a UCPD crime alert released Friday. The perpetrator in this incident also pushed the student to the ground before snatching her cellphone and fleeing the scene.

In a fourth incident this weekend, however, a student successfully resisted an attempted theft.

The student was walking between Dwinelle Hall and the Valley Life Sciences Building just after midnight Saturday when three males approached him, according to a UCPD crime alert released Monday. Two of the men stood in front of and behind the student, one issuing verbal threats while the other grabbed his backpack from behind. The student clenched his backpack and began to yell, after which the men fled the scene.

Immediately after each of the four crimes, UCPD searched the area but was unable to locate the perpetrators.

According to a recent Berkeley Police Department report, 221 robberies have occurred within the city from January to June 2013. The report also noted a 67 percent increase  in robberies targeting people with iPhones, smartphones and other small electronic devices in the first six months of 2013 compared with the same months in 2012.

Megan Messerly is a news editor. Contact her at mmesserly@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @meganmesserly.

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The student was walking on Campanile Way when he was confronted by three males about 12:40 a.m., according to a UCPD crime alert released Monday. A perpetrator moved in front of the student as another perpetrator grabbed his backpack from behind in an attempt to take it. The perpetrator in front verbally threatened the student, who clenched his backpack and began to yell.

The three suspects fled the scene, running east toward the Campanile. The victim, who was uninjured during the encounter, walked home and called UCPD to report the crime.

UCPD searched the area but was unable to locate the suspects.

According to the UCPD crime alert, the suspects are described as:

Suspect No. 1 — A male, possibly Asian, in his late teens or early 20s, 6 feet in height, with a thin build and dark complexion and wearing a red hooded sweatshirt.

Suspect No. 2 — An Asian male in his late teens or early 20s, 5-foot-10 in height, with a thin build and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Suspect No. 3 — A male in his late teens or early 20s, 5-foot-10 in height, with a thin build and wearing dark clothing.

Megan Messerly is a news editor. Contact her at mmesserly@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @meganmesserly.

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The victim was standing at the shuttle pickup location in front of the residence hall on Channing Way about 7:45 p.m. when she was approached from behind by the perpetrator, according to a UCPD crime alert released Friday. The suspect shoved her and took her cellphone before running west on Channing Way and south on Dana Street.

The victim was not injured during the encounter.

UCPD and Berkeley Police Department searched the area but were unable to locate the perpetrator.

According to the UCPD crime alert, the suspect is described as:

A black male, approximately 19 years old, 5-foot-11 in height, weighing about 170 pounds and wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.

Megan Messerly is a news editor. Contact her at mmesserly@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @meganmesserly.

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Alex Turney/Staff

Christopher Smith, co-founder of 40 Acres Medical Marijuana Growers’ Collective, filed a lawsuit Sept. 24 against the city of Berkeley and some of its departments, alleging the city discriminated against the collective.

The lawsuit, filed at Alameda County Superior Court, alleges the city of Berkeley, the city’s Medical Cannabis Commission and a number of other departments and officials denied Smith the permits needed to ensure 40 Acres’ continued legality without due process.

The lawsuit also alleges the defendants violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by discriminating against Smith in favor of medical marijuana organizations run by white people.

“We think the lawsuit lacks merit and will defend against it,” said City Attorney Zach Cowan in an email. Cowan declined to comment further due to the pending litigation.

Although 40 Acres was established as a legal collective in 2009, Measure T, which was passed by voters in 2010, set new guidelines for marijuana dispensaries and collectives. Under Measure T, collectives are prohibited from functioning in commercial or manufacturing districts, unlike dispensaries, and are allowed only in residential areas.

Smith originally operated his business in a commercial district at 1820 to 1828 San Pablo Ave. As of January 2012, 40 Acres had closed and moved out of the location, although Smith still resides there. According to the lawsuit, Smith was not aware his work was illegal under the city’s zoning ordinance.

On Tuesday, Berkeley city inspectors and police officers conducted a surprise visit to the building for a code enforcement inspection.

The property had previously been inspected in early September. At the time, Smith did not allow Berkeley Code Enforcement Unit supervisor Gregory Daniel to inspect Units 1 through 3 and 11, which he rents. Supervising building inspector Patrick Emmons, however, found a number of safety violations in Units 4 through 10, which prompted the second inspection this week.

Lee Hepner, Smith’s attorney, said he believes the inspection was a violation of state and local laws, perhaps even the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure.

According to a search warrant, Cowan received permission from Alameda County Superior Court to forgo the usual 24-hour notice inspectors are usually required to issue. The court also allowed inspectors to enter by force, if necessary.

Smith’s attorneys noted that 40 Acres would like to become a dispensary, but the Berkeley Medical Cannabis Ordinance limits the city to three dispensaries. A fourth dispensary will be allowed once Berkeley adopts a licensing ordinance.

City spokesperson Matthai Chakko said there are a number of reasons the city has not adopted a licensing ordinance yet.

“City Council processes in general can take a while, and sometimes it’s just a matter of time,” Chakko said.

Contact Tahmina Achekzai at tachekzai@dailycal.org.

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About 5:30 a.m., the victim was walking in the area when she was grabbed from behind by the perpetrator, who was armed with a handgun, according to a UCPD crime alert released Thursday. The perpetrator demanded the victim’s property, and although she responded that she didn’t have any money, he struck her, after which she fell to the ground. The perpetrator took her purse and ran west on Center Street.

The victim sustained nonlife-threatening injuries during the encounter and declined to receive any medical treatment at the scene.

BPD and UCPD searched the area but were unable to locate the perpetrator.

According to the UCPD crime alert, the suspect is described as:

A black male between 30 and 35 years old, 5-foot-10 in height, weighing about 150 pounds with a thin build, black hair and medium complexion, wearing a black jacket and dark pants.

Megan Messerly is a news editor. Contact her at mmesserly@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @meganmesserly.

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UCPD/Courtesy

UCPD released a photo Wednesday evening of a man who may be linked to the theft of laptop computers and other personal property on campus.

According to a press release from UCPD, the suspect probably is the individual who has been reported prowling inside buildings on the north side of the UC Berkeley campus on several occasions since early August.

The man in the photograph is described as wandering hallways with his cellphone at his ear, possibly pretending to be engaged in conversation while looking for opportunities to enter unsecured offices and labs, according to the release.

The suspect is described as a man in his late 40s or early 50s, six feet tall, with a thin build and weighing about 160 pounds. He is typically seen wearing a baseball cap, a short-sleeved shirt with a collar and blue jeans.

Those with information about the suspect are asked to contact the UCPD Criminal Investigation Bureau at 510-642-0472 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. or 510-642-6760 at all other times.

Chris Yoder covers crime. Contact him at cyoder@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter @christiancyoder.

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But an early September shooting in the same location that has been linked to several murders in Berkeley and Oakland has further dampened the mood of an otherwise quiet West Berkeley neighborhood.

On the evening of Sept. 8, Berkeley resident Anthony Medearis was shot and killed after an alleged robbery attempt during a game of dice, according to a probable cause declaration from Berkeley Police Department Officer Shan Johnson. Darnell Williams, a 22-year-old Oakland resident, was arrested that evening in connection with the Medearis shooting.

“It’s like we’re cursed, right here in this particular spot,” said Berkeley resident Janet Guastavino. “A lot of people come and go in that apartment building next door. A handful of them have been really friendly with me. And (Medearis) was one of them.”

In a press conference Tuesday, Oakland police announced charges against Williams not only for the killing of Medearis but also for the July death of an 8-year-old Oakland girl, helping piece together a string of homicides that rattled neighborhoods in Berkeley and Oakland.

The fact that Williams’ arrest connected the incidents in the two cities did not surprise Oakland Mayor Jean Quan.

“It’s always happened that way,” Quan said. “Gangs don’t have boundaries.”

In 2009, four members of an Oakland gang killed Charles Davis near the corner of 10th Street and Allston Way in West Berkeley. According to prosecutors, the four were looking for Charles Davis’ brother Jermaine Davis, but when they could not find him, they killed Charles Davis instead.

On July 12, the four were sentenced to life in prison without parole by Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland.

A probable cause declaration from Oakland police Officer Robert Rosin sheds light on the day’s events after the sentencing. In what police termed a “retaliatory shooting,” Jermaine Davis was shot and killed shortly before 7 p.m. on the 1800 block of Derby Street in Berkeley. In retaliation for Jermaine Davis’ death, Williams and Joseph Carroll, who is a cousin of Jermaine Davis, allegedly targeted a man whom police have identified only as “John Doe,” Rosin wrote in the declaration.

According to Rosin’s declaration, Williams and Carroll met at an East Oakland residence and determined the address of Doe’s children and their mother in Oakland’s Dimond neighborhood. Carroll traveled to Antioch and allegedly confronted Doe at a gas station, Rosin wrote. The details of the confrontation, however, remain unclear.

Eight-year-old Alaysha Carradine was sleeping over at her friend’s Dimond neighborhood home. About 11:18 p.m., she answered the doorbell. Multiple shots fired through the doorway killed Carradine and injured her friend, the friend’s brother and the friend’s grandmother, according to police.

Carroll was arrested in Harris County, Texas, in late September and was charged along with Williams in the slaying of Carradine, Oakland police announced in the Tuesday press conference.

Outside the home where Carradine was killed, there are no visible signs of the July confrontation. But to many residents of the neighborhood, memories of the incident remain fresh.

Jamaal Fowler, Carradine’s stepbrother, said he never would have expected an incident in the neighborhood.

“Especially over here, it’s so quiet,” Fowler said. “At least they caught (Williams). (It’s) some type of justice.”

Oakland City Councilmember Libby Schaaf, whose district includes the Dimond neighborhood, said she would like to see more coordination between police and social services.

“These are the kind of murders that have ripple effects,” Schaaf said. “For myself, every time I hear the doorbell ring in my house, I feel fear. It’s again more evidence that we’ve got to intervene in these retaliatory cycles of violence.”

West Berkeley residents also described a peaceful neighborhood caught off guard by violence. Guastavino, who saw Medearis five to six times a week, says the arrest of Williams brings little solace.

“It doesn’t bring (Medearis) back,” Guastavino said. “It was just nice to have someone to smile and wave at.”

Staff writer Tahmina Achekzai contributed to this report.

Chris Yoder covers crime. Contact him at cyoder@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter @christiancyoder.

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About 11:37 p.m., Caffe Mediterraneum owner Craig Becker confronted a man he saw reaching into the cafe’s tip jar. Becker followed him toward the exit, and a physical confrontation ensued. Becker was kicked by three men and threatened with a handgun.

“We ended up getting into a fistfight,” Becker said. “Some of the customers were helping, and (the suspect) had some friends, and they tipped over a table and stuff, broke some of the marble, broke some dishes and then ran off. Basically, that was it.”

The perpetrators fled south on Telegraph, and moments later, witnesses heard gunshots, according to police. Officers later located a discarded firearm on the 2600 block of Regent Street.

Police were on the scene within minutes. Berkeley Police Department and UCPD detained two of the suspects as they attempted to flee, and officers found the third suspect after searching the area. BPD identified the suspects as Jeremiah Lee, 19, Willie Smith, 18, and Markeise Prince, 19.

“I think the police did a great job,” Becker said. “I was surprised how fast they came.”

Becker suffered a swollen lip and scrapes on his face but sustained no major injuries as a result of the confrontation. He said no one else suffered any major injuries.

Chris Yoder covers crime. Contact him at cyoder@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter @christiancyoder.

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On Sept. 4, the Alameda County Superior Court issued a no-bail felony warrant for the arrest of Michael Terrance Jones for the possession of stolen property, according to a press release from UCPD. Six days later, the court issued another felony warrant for his arrest for a burglary in the city of Berkeley, the release says.

Jones is on criminal probation through May 18, 2018, and is ordered to stay five yards from UC Berkeley property, according to the release.

Those with information about Jones’ whereabouts are asked to call 911 or 510-642-3333.

Jones is described as a black male, 5-foot-6 in height, weighing 175 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and a scar on his left cheek.

Sara Grossman is the executive news editor. Contact her at sgrossman@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @saragrossman.

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