Berkeley police arrest mini-mart armed robbery suspects
An "alert community member" witnessed the armed robbery at the Stop & Shop Mini Mart on San Pablo Avenue, police said.
Three mini-mart armed robbery suspects are in custody Friday after police tracked them down using Flock cameras, authorities report.
Officers seized ammunition, high-capacity magazines and "numerous replica pellet guns" during a warrant search related to the case, Berkeley police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.
On Thursday, an "alert community member" witnessed the armed robbery just after 6:30 p.m. at the Stop & Shop Mini Mart at 1527 San Pablo Ave. (north of Cedar Street).
Police determined that two men had robbed the clerks at gunpoint and taken cash from the register, BPD said.
The men ran onto Cedar Street then fled in a vehicle, which BPD entered into law enforcement databases as wanted in connection with the robbery, police said.
Oakland police found the vehicle, thanks in part to Flock, and detained its occupants at about 8 p.m., BPD said.
BPD robbery detectives searched the Berkeley home of one of the suspects, where they found the ammunition, pellet guns and other evidence associated with the case, according to police.
(As of Friday, investigators had not determined whether the pellet guns they seized were also used in the robbery.)
Police identified the suspects as Mariaun Pimpton, 23, of Berkeley; Samer Aldaylam, 22, of Berkeley; and Lavirious Patterson, 22, of Modesto.
They were arrested on suspicion of robbery, conspiracy and possession of a large-capacity magazine, police said.
In addition, police arrested Pimpton on suspicion of being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition and a probation violation.
According to Alameda County Superior Court records, Pimpton had a burglary case in 2023, which resulted in probation (ending in 2025); and a domestic violence, grand theft and robbery case in 2024, which resulted in probation through 2027.
Pimpton is being held on $140,000 bail and the other men on $110,000 bail, according to booking records. All three are set for arraignment Tuesday.
Robberies are down in Berkeley in 2026
There had been 86 robberies reported in Berkeley through July 12, according to preliminary BPD data, compared to 95 over the same period in 2025.
Last year appeared to be a historic low for robberies in Berkeley following fewer reports during most of the pandemic.
For many years, Berkeley consistently averaged about a robbery a day before the numbers began to fall.
In recent weeks, however, robberies of local businesses seem to be ticking up, including an armed robbery at a local smoke shop in late June and the robbery of a cannabis dispensary in early July.
Emilie Raguso
