Suspect in violent robbery also tied to hot prowl burglary
A 60-year-old shop clerk learned she had a concussion after passing out in the hours after the robbery, Berkeley police said.
A man who gave a shop clerk a concussion when he attacked her during a robbery last week tried to break into a woman's home the next day, authorities report.
The suspect is now in jail, held without bail, facing multiple charges, court records show.
Last week, Berkeley police say parolee Ronald Smith loitered inside Lil' Loop Neighborhood Market, at the Shell gas station at 1250 University Ave., drinking a frozen beverage before walking up to the counter and demanding "all the money in the register" while wielding a knife.
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The clerk, a 60-year-old woman, told him the cash was inaccessible, already locked in the safe for the night, police wrote.
That's when Smith, 32, "reached over the counter" and "pulled the victim's hair" while continuing to make demands and wielding the knife, police wrote.
He left her with broken glasses and a sore scalp, authorities said. The cash register was also damaged when Smith tried to open it himself, police wrote.
The woman passed out later that night and was admitted to the hospital the next day for a concussion and a neck injury.
After watching security footage, Berkeley police recognized Smith as the possible suspect, BPD wrote.
Emilie Raguso
On parole for attempted robbery, Smith has an "extensive history" of theft in Berkeley, police wrote — along with a new charged theft case from incidents that unfolded in mid-January.
Ronald Smith. BPD
The day after the gas station robbery, BPD responded to the 1200 block of Francisco Street after Smith tried to break into an occupied home there, according to charging papers.
Police found him in the area and arrested him.
As of this week, Smith — who is homeless and unemployed, according to police and public records — remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail.
He is ineligible for bail because of his parole violation.
Smith is set to return to court Feb. 17, according to court records.
There had been 14 robberies in Berkeley as of Feb. 2, the most recent date available, according to BPD data.
The city had seen about the same number of robberies last year at this time.
