Berkeley police stop robbery vehicle after Flock alert
"The suspects pushed the victim to the ground, kicked him while he was down and stole his gold iPhone," authorities said.
Berkeley police caught a break Monday afternoon in a robbery investigation that began last week.
On Monday, the city's Flock camera system, which alerts BPD when cars linked to crimes enter the city, led investigators to a white Chevrolet Silverado on University Avenue that had been used in a recent robbery, Berkeley police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.
The robbery happened Thursday at about 3:30 p.m., beginning as a road-rage conflict at Milvia and Addison streets but turning into a strong-arm robbery, authorities said.
"The suspects pushed the victim to the ground, kicked him while he was down and stole his gold iPhone," authorities said. Then they fled the scene in a white Chevy Silverado.
As part of the investigation, police put the car and its license plate onto a "hotlist" of vehicles wanted in connection with felony crimes.
On Monday, BPD's Flock license plate reader system alerted the department that the car was in the city on University Avenue at about 3:20 p.m.
Officers quickly pulled over the car and detained the driver and a second occupant at gunpoint without incident.
As of publication time, BPD was working to determine whether someone else may have been using the car at the time of the crime.
There have been about 70 robberies in Berkeley so far this year, down steeply (nearly 30%) from last year's robbery reports over the same period.
Berkeley has 51 Flock cameras, according to department data.
In the past 30 days, Flock has alerted Berkeley police to about 6,400 vehicles linked to possible crimes, resulting in nearly 500 law enforcement searches.
The system does not detect faces or people and cannot be used for immigration or traffic enforcement under the department's use policy.
