Updated 2/6/2017 to include information from BPD. Sgt Andrew Frankel.
The Berkeley Police Department, or BPD, released a Nixle alert at noon Thursday alerting the community of a “snatch and grab” that occurred Wednesday evening on the 2300 block of College Avenue.
According to the alert, three of the suspects approached the victims and took four laptops before escaping southbound on College Avenue in an old model four-door sedan. No one was injured during the thefts.
There are four suspects in total, two of whom are described as Black male adults in their early 20s, 6 feet tall with thin builds and wearing dark clothing. The third suspect was described as a Black male with no further description, and the fourth suspect, the getaway driver, had no description.
BPD said in the alert that it has interviewed several suspects who have been arrested for similar crimes and found that they targeted people who did not pay attention to their surroundings. They encouraged people to not leave valuables unattended and to use tracking software on devices.
“Last night’s incident has become an all too frequent occurrence,” the alert said. “We recognize it’s not just a Berkeley problem as our neighbors are experiencing the same crimes.”
BPD asks that anyone with more information regarding these crimes call the BPD Robbery Detail at (510)981-5742.
Check back for updates.
