Berkeley stabbing leads to new drug dealing charges
The blade narrowly missed a woman's eye, police said. Herbert Mitchell was identified as the suspect.
A man police say stabbed a woman in Berkeley after "making derogatory comments about her mother" is now facing drugs sales charges, too, according to court papers.
The investigation began last week Tuesday, March 24, when police say Herbert Mitchell stabbed the woman when she told him to stop making critical remarks.
According to Berkeley police, Mitchell pulled out a "shank that people make in jail" and stabbed her with the 6- or 7-inch silver blade.
The knife narrowly missed the woman's eye and left a 2-inch laceration that required seven stitches at the hospital, according to court papers.
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After the stabbing, officers responded to the area, outside E-Z Stop Deli, at 2233 Shattuck Ave. in downtown Berkeley, and began looking for the suspect.
But the woman didn't know his full name or where he lived, police wrote.
Witnesses said the man had a "lazy eye" and used a red electric wheelchair, details that ultimately aided in his identification.
Members of BPD's Bike Detail, which often patrols downtown, recognized the description from a man they'd seen around the neighborhood, 65-year-old Herbert Mitchell.
When police found and arrested Mitchell the day after the stabbing, he was carrying "three different drugs packaged for sale" along with about $140 in mixed currency, BPD wrote.
Authorities identified the drugs as suspected crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.
Police said they believed they were intended for sale due to the amounts of the substances, that there were different types of them, and that Mitchell possessed no paraphernalia for using them himself.
They also noted that Mitchell had two prior convictions on his rap sheet related to drug sales.
After arresting Mitchell, police continued to work on the case, securing a search warrant for his home on Grant Street to look for more evidence, BPD wrote.
That's where they found a safe containing nearly $1,000 "in mixed denominations" along with more than 18 grams of suspected methamphetamine, more than 15 grams of suspected crack cocaine and more than 14 grams of suspected psilocybin mushrooms, police wrote in court papers.
Last week, the Alameda County DA's office charged Mitchell with three counts of drug sales, including allegations that he possessed a "large quantity of contraband," according to court records.
He was charged separately with assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the stabbing.
According to court records, Mitchell has felony convictions dating back to 1987 for drug sales, attempted robbery, petty theft, assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence, as well as at least one strike.
As of this week, Mitchell is being held at Santa Rita Jail with a combined bail of $75,000.
He is set for a pretrial hearing Monday.
