TBS Today: Dec. 28

In 2009, Steven McCreary set out for San Francisco on his latest ramble. His family never heard from him again.

McCreary, then 37, was a vagabond. He loved hitchhiking and life on the road.

But he would always come home to visit his many relatives in Tennessee and Texas, often working as a painting contractor in the family business for six months or a year to save up for his next trip.

"He'd come work with us for awhile, then he would be up and gone again," said McCreary's uncle, Rodney McCreary. "He just had a gypsy soul there, I guess. Never could get him to settle down."

The discovery of McCreary's bones at UC Berkeley's Clark Kerr Campus gave his loved ones a chance this year to reflect on his life.

Don't miss our latest Scanner deep dive.

Family honors Steven McCreary, whose bones were found at UC Berkeley

“You’re thankful that you don’t look to see if that’s him every time you pass someone on the road,” said cousin Larramie Pace.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Speaking of Clark Kerr, UCPD announced an armed robbery attempt there this morning.

As a result, we took a look at the recent stats. Cal has reported seven other robberies on UC Berkeley property in the past six months (the only data readily available online).

Meanwhile, there have been approximately 150 robberies in the blocks around campus this year, according to available BPD data.

Robberies around campus (not on UC property) are much more frequent. (These markers show robberies from all of 2023 via BPD data.) pic.twitter.com/kVOMh1K9ih

— The Berkeley Scanner (@BerkeleyScanner) December 28, 2023

In other news, after getting a reader tip, we asked BPD about a traffic collision Thursday afternoon that sent a man to Highland Hospital.

The crash took place just after noon at Euclid and Keith avenues. Police said the solo motorist overturned in the roadway, likely due to a driving error.

Police said the man's injuries seemed mostly minor but he was sent to the hospital largely as a precaution due to age.

In case you missed it, the Berkeley Police Association posted on Instagram today about an illegal gun recovered early this morning by an officer on patrol.

There wasn't much detail about the traffic stop but, in the post, police indicated that the driver had failed to obey traffic laws, had marijuana in the vehicle in the open and did not have a valid license.

The gun was loaded and unregistered, police said.

BPD has recovered about 70 guns this year, including 18 ghost guns. Those numbers are down from prior years, but it's unclear whether that's due to fewer traffic stops and low staffing or other factors.

We also updated our 2023 gunfire map today, hopefully for the last time this year.

Berkeley shootings in 2023: The definitive gunfire map

As of Dec. 28, Berkeley has had 35 shootings in 2023 with eight people wounded. BPD also had two fatal police shootings.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

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