Stefan Lasiewski

From: Pierantoni, Casimiro
Date: Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 6:08 PM
Subject: Berkeley Police Media Release and Crime Alert
To:

Dear Fellow Community Members,

In last week’s Area 1 Update, I informed you about a late-afternoon/early-evening burglary series that was impacting our area.  I included a web link to a photo of a possible suspect in the series.  Today, our Department issued a media release asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect.  I have included a link to the full media release below.  I ask that you forward the release to as many people as you know in Area 1.  As we have seen in past cases, it is often a call from an alert community member that leads to the arrest of a prolific criminal. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/PressReleaseMain.aspx?id=51214

I also wanted to alert you to a rash of auto burglaries that occurred in the early morning hours of Tuesday the 16th.  We had a total of 13 auto burglaries spread across Beats 1, 2, 3, and 18.  The locations of the auto burglaries were:

Beat 1)         700 Block of Neilson St. (cross of Portland Ave.)

                Two cases on the 800 Block of Indian Rock Ave. (cross of San Mateo Rd.)

                700 Block of San Diego Rd. (cross of South Hampton Ave.)

Beat 2)         1000 Block of Cragmont Ave. (cross of Euclid Ave.)

                1501 Block of Le Roy Ave. (cross of Buena Vista Way)

                2800 Block of Buena Vista Way (cross of Maybeck Twin Dr.)

                1600 Block of Oxford St. (cross of Cedar St.)

Intersection of Le Conte Ave. and Ridge Rd.

Beat 3)         1700 Block of Buena Ave. (cross of McGee Ave.)

                1300 Block of Carlotta Ave. (cross of Hopkins St.)

Beat 18)        1800 Block of Curtis St. (cross of Delaware St.)

                1400 Block of Curtis St. (cross of Gilman St.)

The incidents are listed by beat and time of report, not by the time of the actual incident.  An analysis of the suspected incident times shows that the rash of burglaries started in the western portion of Area 1 and moved east into the hills.  Nearly all of the auto burglaries were via “window smash,” and as you would expect, cars with visible valuables inside (like iPods, cell phones, GPS systems) were targeted.  Some of the auto burglaries involved extensive prowls of the interiors and trunks of the vehicles.  This indicates that the suspects may have spent a significant amount of time with some of the vehicles, not a typical “smash and grab” situation.  It is safe to assume that the suspects slowly roamed through our area for a substantial amount of time looking for cars to burglarize.

During the incident on the 700 Block of San Diego Rd. (which occurred at 4:40am), a car alarm began to sound and drew the attention of a community member.  The community member looked out his window and saw a 1980′s to 1990′s “boxy” copper or burgundy colored Toyota or Nissan leaving the scene.  If you are a night owl or an early riser, or if you are awakened by a suspicious noise, please keep that vehicle description in mind.  I would also like to remind you to never hesitate to call the police to report any suspicious activity.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have.

Respectfully,

Officer Casimiro Pierantoni #96

   Area Coordinator-Area 1

   Community Services Bureau

   Berkeley Police Department

   Phn: (510) 981-5773

   Fax: (510) 981-5819

   cpierantoni@cityofberkeley.info>

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Pierantoni, Casimiro
Date: Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 7:08 PM
Subject: Berkeley Police Area 1 Update
To:

Dear Fellow Community Members,

As I have mentioned in previous updates, I check in regularly with our
various Detective Divisions to determine if there are any trends or
crime series that are affecting Area 1.  I've learned that there is
currently a burglary series impacting parts of Beats 1, 2, 3, and 18
in North-Central Berkeley.  The burglaries are occurring in the late
afternoon to early evening hours.  They were initially concentrated in
the western portion of Beat 18, but have moved north into Beats 1, 2,
and 3.  Here are the burglaries associated with this series:

        3/3     1300 Block of Oxford St. (cross of Eunice St.)

                1200 Block of M.L.K. Jr. Way (cross of Hopkins St.)

        2/27    Two separate cases on the 1600 Block of Kains Ave.
(cross of Cedar St.)

                1100 Block of Virginia St. (cross of San Pablo Ave.)

        2/26    Hopkins Court (cross of Hopkins St.)

        2/24    1100 Francisco St. (cross of San Pablo Ave.)

On 3/3, at about 5:00pm, a community member on the 1700 Block of Eola
St. took a photo of a suspicious "door-knocker" that was possibly
casing the neighborhood for homes to burglarize.  You can see the
photo of the man at the following web link:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=30632 .  There is
the obvious possibility that the man is involved in the burglary
series.  We ask that any community members that may have information
about the man to contact our Property Crimes Unit at (510) 981-5737.
I remind you to always be vigilant, and to never hesitate to report
any suspicious activity to the police.  Since I haven't mentioned it
recently, I feel somewhat comfortable also reminding you all to please
please please (yes I said "please" three times) make certain all your
doors and windows are locked prior to leaving your home.
Consistently, in 25% to 50% of all residential burglaries in Berkeley,
the burglar enters through an open or unlocked door or window.  We
know burglars are prowling our neighborhoods.  To a burglar, an open
door or window is like an invitation into your home.  Never allow your
home to be an easy target for a burglar.

I have good news to share with you regarding an auto burglary
mentioned in a previous update.  You may remember the case that
occurred on Feb. 9th that was investigated by Officer Peter Bjeldanes
#18.  In that case, the victim returned to his truck (which was parked
on Hearst Ave. west of Euclid Ave.: an area known for auto burglaries)
and found a man in the process of burglarizing it.  The suspect
startled by the unexpected appearance of the truck owner, quickly left
the scene in a car, but not before the victim was able to write down
the suspect's license plate number.  Officer Bjeldanes put together a
"photo line-up" that included a photo of the registered owner of the
suspect vehicle.  The victim quickly identified the registered owner
as the man he saw burglarizing his truck.  The suspect's photo and
identifying information were distributed throughout B.P.D. and
officers began searching for the suspect.

Fast forward to Feb. 26th…at around 4:00pm, two community members were
walking back to their car that was parked on Hearst Ave. west of
Euclid Ave.  When they reached their car, they discovered that one of
the windows had been smashed.  The community members looked around and
noticed a suspicious man standing near a car west of their location.
They heard the sound of breaking glass then saw the man lean into the
car and remove a black backpack.  One of the community members shouted
at the man.  The suspect, knowing he had been seen, began to run west
on Hearst Ave.  The community member followed the suspect and watched
as the suspect threw the stolen backpack he was carrying into the
street.  The community member tried to keep an eye on the suspect but
eventually lost sight of him.  Further west on Hearst Ave., a third
community member was walking east bound saw a suspicious looking man
(the auto burglary suspect) running toward her.  She watched as the
man ran to a waiting car, jumped in the back seat, and covered himself
with a blanket.

Because the man's behavior was obviously suspicious, the community
member concentrated on memorizing the license plate number to the
vehicle.  The car quickly left the area, speeding eastbound up Hearst
Ave.  The community member who had been following the suspect
eventually ran into the third community member.  He asked her if she
had seen a suspicious man running in the area.  She told him about man
jumping into the waiting car and shared the license plate number with
him.  B.P.D. was called and several officers quickly responded to the
scene.  The description and license plate number of the suspect
vehicle were broadcast to all the patrol officers in Berkeley.

A few minutes later, at the intersection of Stuart St. and Telegraph
Ave., Officer Kyle White #50 spotted the suspected vehicle.  Officer
White broadcast that he had located the suspect car and began to
follow it while he waited for additional officers to assist in
stopping the vehicle.  While he was following the car, Officer White
noticed that there only appeared to be one occupant inside the
vehicle.  On Telegraph Ave. south of Ashby Ave., Officer White, with
other officers assisting him, stopped the suspect car.  As Officer
White was ordering the driver of the car to exit the vehicle, he saw a
second man pop up from the rear seat area.  Both men were detained
without incident and officers on scene quickly realized that one of
the men was the suspect from the Feb. 9th auto burglary.  The
suspects' vehicle was searched and several items of stolen property
were located.  The investigation showed that the two men were involved
in three auto burglaries that day from Hearst Ave.  Officer Erik Keene
#145, who handled the investigation, completed a thorough report that
was forwarded to the D.A. for prosecution.

Antonio Manuel Grajeda (5-24-75) of Berkeley, the original auto
burglar from Feb. 9th, was arrested for three counts of auto burglary
and committing a felony while out on bail (for a pending case of
possession of stolen property).  Kevin Lanard Bolden (9-28-90) of
Oakland was arrested for three counts of auto burglary and providing
false information to a police officer.  Not surprisingly, with the
arrest of these two men, the number of auto burglaries in the area of
Hearst Ave. and Euclid Ave. has declined.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions,
comments, or suggestions you may have.

Respectfully,

Officer Casimiro Pierantoni #96

   Area Coordinator-Area 1

   Community Services Bureau

   Berkeley Police Department

   Phn: (510) 981-5773

   Fax
: (510) 981-5819

   cpierantoni@cityofberkeley.info>

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Mayor's Office for the City of Berkeley <mayor@cityofberkeley.info>
Date: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 4:31 PM
Subject: The Bates Update – February 2010 – A New Downtown Plan

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

The Bates Update News from the Mayor's Office February, 2010 – Vol 2, Issue 02 In This Issue New Downtown Plan Berkeley's Green Scorecard Green Career Fair DEAR Day More Breaking News… Quick Links    Mayor's Home Page     Greetings!   Welcome to another issue of the Bates Update.  If you enjoy receiving this information about what's happening in Berkeley please forward this email to a friend.  New Downtown Area Plan After months of consulting with members of the community – including environmentalists, developers, labor, affordable housing leaders, and community activists, we have put together an innovative plan that incentivizes environmental and economic public benefits in a way no other city in the Country has done.  The new plan with amendments was passed 8-1 on February 23rd and will now be sent to the City Manager for analysis and a schedule for action that will allow us to prepare for the November 2010 ballot. Our new plan establishes an accelerated planning process for a Green Pathway that is voluntary. The Green Pathway will: Create the Greenest Transit Oriented Downtown in America  Get around the Palmer decision that says you can't require new building to provide affordable rental housing Provide jobs for local residence and prevailing wages Establish realistic buildable heights for new buildings For more information please see our Council Item: Proposed Revisions to Downtown Area Plan  Berkeley's Green Scorecard Website     Did you know that  Berkeley residents have reduced waste sent to the landfill by 25% over the last ten years?   The City of Berkeley launched an interactive web-based tool that presents scorecards on local sustainability trends such as annual energy use, waste disposal, and tree planting in our community.  The website is called the "Berkeley See-It."  See-It is a performance management and communications software developed by Visible Strategies.  Berkeley See-It received support from the San Francisco Foundation and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.   The website enables residents to, with a few clicks of a mouse, access relevant, up-to-date information about Berkeley's progress toward its climate action goals.  In addition, the site provides a forum for questions and feedback regarding implementation of the City's Climate Action Plan. To view the Berkeley See-It website, please visit the City of Berkeley website at: www.cityofberkeley.info/climate

Check Here for More Breaking News and Information

For more information please check out the following si tes:   Mayor's Office Homepage: www.cityofberkeley.info/mayor On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MayorTomBates    Please tune in to these important platforms and help make Berkeley the best it can be!

Forward email This email was sent to stefan@stefanco.com by mayor@cityofberkeley.info. Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Email Marketing by Mayor's Office for the City Berkeley | 2180 Milvia Street | 5th Floor | Berkeley | CA | 94703

–
Stefan Lasiewski
http://stefanco.com

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Pierantoni, Casimiro <CPierantoni@ci.berkeley.ca.us>
Date: Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 3:55 PM
Subject: Berkeley Police Area 1 Update
To:

Dear Fellow Community Members,

In a recent update we discussed the topic of auto burglary and how we
had experienced an increase in auto burglary numbers from December '09
through early January of this year.  Recent numbers are showing that
we are no longer experiencing an increase, but as you already know,
auto burglary is a constant issue that we deal with in Area 1.  Beat 2
continues to be the hot-spot for auto burglary activity in our area,
particularly Hearst Ave. west of Euclid Ave. and the neighborhoods
just north of the U.C. Berkeley campus.  In the last week (since
Friday Jan. 29th), Beat 2 has had 10 reported auto burglaries compared
to 5 total auto burglaries for all of Beats 1, 3, and 18.  Parking
lots in the central and western parts of the city are also common
haunts for auto burglars.  Recently, we've become aware of auto
burglars targeting areas around schools during the morning student
drop-off and afternoon student pick-up times.  Auto burglars are
targeting parents' cars.  Often, valuables are left in plain sight
because the parents are only expecting to be away from their cars for
a short period of time.  As we have mentioned many many times before,
taking a few moments to practice simple crime prevention techniques
prior to leaving your parked car may prevent you from being the victim
of an auto burglary.

Knowing that auto burglary is a significant issue not just in Area 1
but in all parts of the city, your patrol officers respond quickly to
calls of suspicious activity and prowling in hopes of finding an auto
burglar and possibly taking a prolific criminal (which many auto
burglars are) off the streets.  An incident that occurred late last
month in West Berkeley illustrates this idea.  In the early morning of
Jan. 28th, at about 2:25am, a security officer of a large hotel on
University Ave. was walking the rear parking lot of the establishment.
The hotel had been experiencing a significant number of auto
burglaries in its parking lot and the security officer had begun to do
frequent checks of the lot in hopes of preventing further burglaries.
As he was checking the parking lot, he saw a suspicious man walk out
from behind a large van that was parked in the lot.  The security
officer stopped and let the man know that he had seen him by saying,
"What's up?"  The man responded by saying, "What's up?" then quickly
walked away from the security officer and out of the parking lot.
Because of the man's clearly suspicious behavior, the security officer
suspected the man was prowling for auto burglary.  The security
officer immediately asked a coworker to call the police then began
checking the lot for burglarized cars.

The call of the suspicious person was broadcast to the West Berkeley
patrol officers with a detailed description of the suspect.  Officer
William Cocke #143 responded to the area quickly and began a search
for the suspect.  Two blocks away from the hotel, on 6th St. just
south of University Ave., Officer Cocke detained a man that closely
matched the suspect description.  At about that same time, Officer
Darren Kacalek #88 arrived at the hotel parking lot and began the
criminal investigation.  Officer Kacalek met with the security officer
who pointed out a burglarized car he had located in the lot.  Officer
Kacalek asked Officer Elizabeth Bashan #111 (who had arrived to assist
in the investigation) to transport the security officer to Officer
Cocke's detention to see if he could identify the detained individual
as the man he saw prowling in the lot.  Officer Kacalek also went to
the detention location to interview the man.  The security officer
positively identified the individual Officer Cocke had detained as the
man he had seen earlier in the hotel parking lot.

A records check of the man showed he was on probation; a condition of
that probation was that officers had the authority to search the man's
home.  Officer Kacalek obtained the man's address from his probation
information.  Officer Kacalek, knowing he wanted to search the man's
home in hopes of locating stolen property, asked the man where he
lived just to confirm he would be checking the correct address.  The
man gave the same address that Officer Kacalek had obtained from his
probation records.  When Officer Kacalek told the man he was going to
conduct a probation search of his home, the man decided to change his
story and told Officer Kacalek that he lived in a tent, "Down by the
railroad tracks."

Officer Kacalek and other officers searched the man's apartment (which
happened to be about two blocks from the hotel) and discovered
suspected stolen property from several previous auto burglaries.  The
man's wife, who was home at the time officers were searching the home,
claimed to have no knowledge of where the items came from, just that
her husband had come home with them.  While officers were searching
the apartment, a second auto burglary was discovered in the hotel
parking lot.

Timothy L. Logan (7/6/62) of Berkeley was arrested for 2 counts of
auto burglary, five counts of possession of stolen property, and for
violation of probation.  Carolyn M. Grundy (11/29/60) of Berkeley was
arrested for five counts of possession of stolen property.

It seems safe to assume that Mr. Logan was a prolific auto burglar.
The security officer's immediate call to B.P.D., combined with the
quick and focused response by your police officers, resulted in the
arrest of a criminal that had victimized (and would have continued to
victimize) numerous community members.  This combination of a quick
call to the police followed by a fast response by your patrol officers
has once again shown itself to be a powerful tool to combat crime.

B.P.D. has a renewed focus on fighting crime.  Chief Michael Meehan
made it very clear in a speech he gave after his public swearing-in
ceremony on Jan. 28th that dealing with Berkeley's crime problem is a
priority for him.  He also stated that the police department can't
solve the crime problem alone.  I share the Chief's feelings and I'm
excited by the possibilities of what our community and our police
department can accomplish by working together.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions,
comments, or suggestions you may have.

Respectfully,

Officer Casimiro Pierantoni #96

   Area Coordinator-Area 1

   Community Services Bureau

   Berkeley Police Department

   Phn: (510) 981-5773

   Fax: (510) 981-5819

   cpierantoni@cityofberkeley.info>

–
Stefan Lasiewski
http://stefanco.com