Teens arrested after armed robbery near UC Berkeley
The suspects, Mateo Haro Rodriguez and Daniel Cestoni Montenegro, fled from Berkeley police, resulting in a brief pursuit.
Police arrested two teenagers from Antioch in connection with an armed robbery overnight on UC Berkeley's Frat Row.
A young man in his 20s called Berkeley police at 2 a.m. to say he had just been robbed at gunpoint in the 2700 block of Channing Way near Piedmont Avenue.
He had been walking from a fraternity with his friend in the Southside neighborhood when a stranger approached "and pointed a black handgun at his chest, demanding jewelry or they would shoot them," authorities said.
The victim gave the robber his gold chains and the suspect got into a car and fled, police said.
BPD spotted the robbery vehicle near Channing Way and Ellsworth Street, resulting in a short pursuit, authorities said.
The chase ended when the driver crashed into the center median at Shattuck Avenue and Haste Street, according to BPD.
Read more about crime near UC Berkeley.
Both people in the car sustained minor injuries. Police arrested the pair without incident, authorities said.
During a subsequent search, officers found two loaded handguns, according to Berkeley police.
The arrested individuals were identified as 18-year-old Mateo Haro Rodriguez and 19-year-old Daniel Cestoni Montenegro, BPD said Friday in response to a Scanner inquiry.
Cestoni was being held on $275,000 bail and Haro, the alleged driver, on $255,000 bail, according to booking records.
They are scheduled for arraignment Tuesday.
Booking photographs were not immediately available, police said.
This story will be updated if they are provided in the future.
Update, Aug. 29: Police released an evidence photograph from the case and some other details on Instagram. The BPD statement appears below in full.
After a student was robbed in the south campus, officers were there soon after — spotting the armed suspects speeding from the area. After a brief pursuit, officers safely took the suspects into custody after they collided with a center median in Downtown Berkeley.
Inside the getaway vehicle, officers found two loaded handguns, ammunition, a cache of marijuana (over 270 grams), as well as the victims stolen jewelry.
That same morning, our robbery detectives were able to follow-up this effort by interviewing the suspects and completing the investigation. We stand ready to help and are happy that we were able to recover the victim's stolen items and safely bring two armed suspects to justice.
