New Berkeley hate crime case for longtime felon
Police say David Denton struck a man with a rock while robbing him Friday night and then vandalized a Jewish center next to campus.
A homeless man linked to several antisemitic hate crimes is in jail again this week after wounding someone during a robbery and vandalizing a UC Berkeley Jewish center, according to court papers.
Police say David Denton, 44, struck a man with a rock, cutting his face, while robbing him of his artwork Friday night right next to campus.
Berkeley police began getting reports at 7:20 p.m. about "some sort of disturbance" near College Avenue and Bancroft Way.
One witness told police there was a man bleeding outside Berkeley Hillel at 2736 Bancroft Way. Another caller said they'd been told someone had a knife.
When police arrived, they found a man bleeding "from a deep cut to his left eyebrow."
He told police about the robbery, a few blocks down the street, and said he'd been hit with a rock when he confronted the suspect.
After the robbery, police say Denton "used a pocket torch to vandalize a Jewish mezuzah scroll" outside Berkeley Hillel, damaging the scroll and the building.
Witnesses identified Denton as the man responsible for the robbery and the vandalism, police wrote.
Officers found him on the steps of Berkeley Hillel and arrested him.
On Tuesday, the Alameda County district attorney's office charged Denton with armed robbery (via rock), arson of an inhabited building and vandalism of religious property, according to court papers.
The latter two charges include hate crime enhancements, which could increase the punishment if Denton is convicted.
David Denton. BPD
According to charging papers, Denton was on some type of supervised release, such as probation or parole, at the time of his arrest.
In the past five years alone, Denton has racked up 12 other criminal cases in Alameda County, and an even longer list of arrests, according to court and public records.
Seven of the charged cases stemmed from felonies, including one other robbery case. At least one included misdemeanor hate crime allegations.
Many of the cases involved vandalism and trespassing charges.
In 2021, Denton committed three different antisemitic hate crimes within just 24 hours, police previously reported.
The next year, he entered an apartment building near campus and threatened residents "with a metal object that could be used to stab someone," police said at the time.
In April 2025, the court placed Denton on unsupervised probation following a misdemeanor vandalism conviction.
According to court papers, he is being held on $100,000 bail and is scheduled for arraignment Friday.
Read more about David Denton in past Scanner coverage.
Emilie Raguso
