Tag Archives: Berkeley Hills
Police investigate homicide on Grizzly Peak Boulevard
Update, 6:10 p.m. Lt. Alex Yao of the University of California Police Department said Grizzly Peak Boulevard has been re-opened to traffic. The victim has been identified as an adult male who was not affiliated with UC Berkeley. The Alameda County coroner’s office said information about the victim’s identity would need to come from police. Further details were not available Sunday night.
Original post, 2:53 p.m. Police are investigating the death of one person who was reportedly shot early Sunday morning on Grizzly Peak Boulevard between Centennial Drive and South Park Drive.
Earlier Sunday, the road was closed to through traffic as police continued their investigation and, as of about 2:40 p.m. it remained closed, police said. … Continue reading »
Firefighters put out cottage blaze after reports of smoke
A fire in an in-law unit in the Berkeley hills this week resulted in about $30,000 worth of damage, and its cause remains under investigation, authorities said Wednesday.
Multiple neighbors near Poppy Lane and Hilldale Avenue called to report an odor of smoke just after midnight Wednesday, said Interim Deputy Fire Chief Avery Webb of the Berkeley Fire Department.
Firefighters were on the scene in less than 10 minutes, but it took some time to locate and then reach the fire.
“Callers reported a strong smell of smoke; they didn’t have an immediate location,” said Webb. … Continue reading »
Fingerprints help police arrest 3 in Senior Avenue assault
Berkeley Police detectives have arrested three West Sacramento residents in connection with an interrupted burglary in the Berkeley hills in December during which thieves ran over a local resident.
Authorities announced the arrests Tuesday night at a special session before the City Council related to the Berkeley Police Department’s 2012 crime report. They provided additional detail Wednesday in a written statement.
According to the statement, a man walking his dog on Dec. 11 returned home to the 300 block of Senior Avenue around 3:15 p.m.
He “saw an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway of his house, occupied by a female sitting in the driver seat. At the same time, the resident heard noises coming from inside his house.” … Continue reading »
House fire in Berkeley hills caused by portable heater
The fire today that saw two stories of a Berkeley hills home extensively damaged, and a huge plume of black smoke visible for miles, was caused by a portable heater setting alight a bed mattress, according to the Berkeley Fire Department.
Interim Deputy Fire Chief Avery Webb said a mattress caught fire in a dormer room at the top of the house and the blaze spread to the second story below.
Webb estimated the damage to the home was valued at $800,000. … Continue reading »
Update: Berkeley hills fire ‘under control’ as of 2 p.m.
Update, 9:09 p.m. Firefighters say a portable heater caused the residential fire on Keith Avenue. Read about it on Berkeleyside.
Update, 2:10 p.m. According to emergency scanner traffic, the incident was determined to be under control as of just after 2 p.m. Berkeleyside will update this post as more information becomes available.
Original post, 12:42 p.m. Berkeley Fire crews are working to put out a fire in a north Berkeley home in the hills that began just before noon, authorities said.
Firefighters responded to the 1100 block of Keith Avenue at 11:47 a.m. for a report of a structure fire, said Interim Fire Chief Gil Dong. … Continue reading »
Mountain lion tracks seen in Claremont Canyon Preserve
Mountain lion tracks have been sighted in the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve, according to Tom Stienstra, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle.
In his regular outdoors column published on Sunday Jan. 19, Stienstra noted two readers had reported being shocked at seeing the distinctive tracks.
“One of the tracks, reported by Bob Felton, occurred when he was walking his dogs and they became agitated and led him to the paw print,” wrote Stienstra. … Continue reading »
Police arrest parolee linked to North Berkeley burglaries
The Berkeley Police Department has arrested a local man they say appears to be linked to several North Berkeley burglaries, officials said Thursday. Police found the man, a felon, in possession of weapons and ammunition after a car chase from south Berkeley into Emeryville in late December.
On Dec. 22, 2012, Berkeley Police officers near Harmon and California streets in south Berkeley spotted a sedan matching the description of a car reported to be involved in several burglaries and possibly a robbery in Berkeley, said officer Jennifer Coats, police spokeswoman, via email.
Officers tried to stop the driver, who fled from police “at a high rate of speed,” said Coats. … Continue reading »
Berkeley hills neighbors anxious after recent robberies
About 60 people crowded into Northbrae Community Church on Thursday night to learn how better to protect themselves in the face of a big jump this month in home burglaries, two of which turned violent.
Most of the neighbors came from the North Berkeley hills area near Fairlawn Drive, though Councilwoman Susan Wengraf said she saw people at the meeting from around her district, District 6, who were worried about safety issues.
The neighborhood is part of the Berkeley Police Department’s Beat 2, which has seen a steady rise in home burglaries since September. That month there were just two home burglaries, with five the following month, eight in November and 12 already this month, as of Wednesday, according to CrimeView Community statistics, which pulls in data from the Police Department. … Continue reading »
Mountain lion sightings in Berkeley raise concerns
Concerns about mountain lions prowling the Berkeley hills are mounting with new reported sightings and the posting of signs alerting local residents to their possible presence.
On Thursday Nov. 15, UC Berkeley police received unconfirmed information of a mountain lion sighting near Building 26 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). UCPD conducted a search of the area and was unable to locate any signs of mountain lion activity or presence.
The last sighting reported in the media was on Oct. 19 when a woman walking with her child in a stroller and their dog on a trail spotted a cougar next to a Kensington home near the Berkeley border. … Continue reading »
German School opens on historic Berkeley campus
A new school has come to the Berkeley hills. The German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV) has settled into the landmarked Hillside School, a site that for many decades was owned and operated by the Berkeley Unified public school system.
The school, which welcomes both German and non-German speaking families, moved from its former location in Kensington which itself was established in 2007 as the second satellite of the original school which was founded in Mountain View in 1999. A San Francisco satellite opened last year.
The private school in Berkeley currently has 70 students, kindergarten through fifth grade, but will add a grade every year until it becomes a K-8 school, according to Birgit Cronin Marketing Coordinator at GISSV.
Cronin said the purchase of the property was in process, and restoration and repair work to the playground in particular was carried out over the summer. First classes were held there on Aug. 13 and a grand opening ceremony took place on Nov 3. … Continue reading »
City releases transcript of murder victim’s call to police
City officials on Tuesday released a transcript of Peter Cukor’s Feb. 18 non-emergency call to police, and in it he asks for police to come “right away” to deal with Daniel Jordan DeWitt, who allegedly killed him about 15 minutes later.
The two-page transcript, however, does not reveal what, if any, level of urgency Cukor conveyed in his voice.
Cukor and his wife Andrea first encountered DeWitt when they returned to their home on Park Gate in the Berkeley hills around 8:30 pm on Feb. 18. DeWitt was hanging around their driveway. Cukor asked DeWitt to leave and then called police at 8:45 pm on a non-emergency number to report that a stranger was lingering nearby:
“Cukor: “Yes, there is a gentleman, a young man hanging around my property. I think he is a transient. I’m not sure.
Dispatch: What is the address sir?
Cukor: 2 Park Gate Berkeley
Dispatch: And he is just standing around there?
Cukor: Yeah. He says that he lives here. He wants to come in which is very strange. I’d like an officer up here right away.” … Continue reading »
Murder trial delayed for psychological assessment
Judge Sandra Bean yesterday delayed the trial of homicide suspect Daniel Jordan DeWitt so that two doctors could assess him for mental competence under section 1368 of the California Penal Code.
On Wednesday, DeWitt was charged with felony murder and use of a deadly weapon in the killing of Peter Cukor outside his home in the Berkeley hills on Feb 18. Yesterday, Dewitt’s lawyer, Brian Bloom, asked the court for a delay so that DeWitt’s competence to stand trial could be assessed.
Cukor and his wife Andrea Cukor returned home around 8:45 pm on the night of Feb. 18 and saw DeWitt loitering in their garage. Peter Cukor told DeWitt to leave, went inside the house, then came out again and was attacked, according to BPD. A ceramic planter was allegedly used in the attack.
Al DeWitt Jr., DeWitt’s father, said his son was diagnosed five years ago with paranoid schizophrenia and has been in mental health facilities at least nine times. … Continue reading »
