HNA News: 2nd Suspect in Woolsey/Benvenue Robbery Caught; New Halcyon Email, etc.

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Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-Newsletter*

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Items appearing in the HNA E-Newsletter are deemed to be of general interest to neighbors but do not necessarily reflect the views of Halcyon Neighborhood Association (HNA), its Steering Committee, or the Editor. The Editor's introductory comments express her own personal viewpoint.

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Items in This E-Newsletter

1. Crime Watch Report: Second Suspect in Woolsey/Benvenue Robbery (and Other Berkeley/No. Oakland Robberies) Arrested

2. Please Update Your Spam Filters: HNA E-News to Come from New Email Address

3. Crime Watch Report: Neighbor Harassed on Telegraph Avenue/ Drug Use on Ashby Avenue

* For Your Calendar: HNA Dates Scheduled for 2007

* Disaster Prep Supply Cache Wish List

* City of Berkeley: Useful Contact Information

Editor's Introductory Note:

Given the bad news about armed robberies over the past month and a half, it seems important to pass some good news (see item 1) on promptly. As the police at our neighborhood potluck said, what seems like a wave of armed robberies may involve only a few perpetrators. With this latest arrest combined with the arrests noted earlier, at least two armed robbers and two accomplices are off the street thanks to good work on the parts of the Berkeley and Oakland police departments as well as the bravery and prompt action of the Bateman neighbors who apprehended one of them. While that doesn't mean we should let down our guard, it's good news nevertheless.

And a reminder: Please update your address books to reflect the new email for sending in crime watch reports as well as good news: Nancy Carleton/Halcyon Neighborhood Association <halcyon92@gmail.com>.

-Nancy Carleton, HNA Co-Chair and E-Newsletter Editor

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1. Crime Watch Report: Second Suspect in Woolsey/Benvenue Robbery (and Other Berkeley/No. Oakland Robberies) Arrested

The following information was received (originating in the Colby Park Watch group's listserve):

The Woolsey arrest last Saturday led to the capture of the accomplice, who was responsible for many armed robberies!

OAKLAND - A man who is suspected in a dozen street robberies in West and North Oakland and Berkeley that involved a mugger who usually wore a camouflage jacket and put a gun to his victims' heads was arrested Thursday, police said. The suspect, Marvin M. Johnson, 21, was arrested about 12:05 p.m. as he approached his car parked outside his apartment in the 1100 block of Eighth Street in West Oakland.

Police found the distinctive camouflage jacket inside the car he was about to get into and other evidence linking him to the robberies was found in the apartment, investigators said.

Oakland Sgt. Drennon Lindsey said the spree started in May, with the latest robberies attributed to Johnson happening Saturday and Sunday in Berkeley and Oakland.

She said he usually would target women in their 30s to 60s walking by themselves in the morning and early evening.

He would approach them from behind, put a gun to their heads and take their purses, she said, sometimes threatening to kill them if they resisted.

Even though he was always seen on foot, police believe he had a car parked nearby, possibly with a getaway driver waiting for him.

Police said in the most recent cases the suspect robbed a 62-year-old woman in the 900 block of MacArthur Boulevard about 11:10 a.m. Sunday after robbing a 33-year-old woman in the 400 block of 38th Street an hour earlier.

It was at a robbery on [Woolsey and] Benvenue Street in Berkeley that police developed information that led to Johnson's arrest. They were able to learn what kind of car he owned and were able to trace the vehicle to the Eighth Street address.

Oakland Sgt. Randy Bandino said Oakland undercover Officer Jeffhry Cid started watching the car Thursday morning while officers from other units - including patrol, Targeted Enforcement Task Force and a Crime Reduction Team - waited nearby.

When Johnson started walking to the car about 12:05 p.m. Cid alerted the other officers who swooped in and arrested him. Some people with Johnson were being detained for questioning, police said.

[Editor's Note: According to additional information received, the earlier man who was arrested near the scene of the Woolsey/Benvenue robbery after being apprehended by neighbors who held him until the police got there was named Ronald Chastang, born in 1986.]

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2. Please Update Your Spam Filters: HNA E-News to Come from New Email Address

If you don't want to miss an edition of the HNA E-News, please update your spam filters to receive the E-News from the following address:

Halcyon Neighborhood Association <halcyon92@gmail.com>

(Note that 1992 is the year HNA was founded; we'll be celebrating our fifteenth anniversary this fall!)

The mindspring address will be discontinued the last week of July.

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3. Crime Watch Report: Neighbor Harassed on Telegraph Avenue/ Drug Use on Ashby Avenue

An Emerson Street neighbor reports:

I was walking our dog at about 6:15 this morning on Telegraph, and this guy was walking on the sidewalk coming towards us. I thought he would just pass us, but instead when he got close he tried to grab my arm and said something profane. My dog  started to react to the guy, but I kept feeding him treats to keep him heeling next to me. We quickly walked around the corner, and I saw a normal guy putting stuff into his car and a guy on a bike had slowed down because he saw the other guy try to grab me and wanted to help. The crazy guy started to follow us around the corner, but as we got closer to the guy at his car and the biker got closer he walked away. I told the other people the guy was acting strange and my dog and I walked away. On our way home, I saw a guy leaning against the front door of the apartment building at 2180 Ashby shooting up on the front porch of an apartment building. So, I decided to call the nonemergency line for the police to report both incidents.  They were pretty concerned so they  sent out two officers to the house to get a description and what not. I was very impressed with the seriousness with which the police handled the situation and their quick response time.

[Editor's Note: The call to the police was very important in setting our neighborhood's boundary. Please keep both the nonemergency number and the emergency number programmed into your cellphone and/or memory, and do not hesitate to call to report threatening or suspicious behvaior. See the Useful Contact Information at the end of each E-News for the numbers.]