Berkeley crime update: Crashes, arrests and falling crime
We've compiled recent cases and the latest crime trends.
Berkeley crime has been slow this past week — but that doesn't mean our work stops.
The Scanner checks arrest records and charged cases throughout the week to ensure we're not missing serious developments.
We also check in with Berkeley police multiple times a day to see what's been happening. Recently, there's been nothing newsworthy to report.
On Tuesday night, police and firefighters responded to two crashes, one involving a pedestrian (at Sixth Street and Hearst Avenue) and one involving a cyclist on a Bike Boulevard (at Sixth and Channing Way).
Authorities said neither turned out to be serious. The Scanner is still monitoring pedestrian and cyclist collisions closely.
Here are several other recent items that have been on our radar.
HIT-AND-RUN DUI CRASH Berkeley police did let us know about a hit-and-run crash at Gilman Street and Eastshore Highway.
Officers responded at 3:39 a.m. on July 18 for a report of the hit-and-run collision.
When they got there, they found an abandoned 2014 Dodge Challenger. Police said the driver ran off after crashing into a vehicle in the roundabout.
Officers found him and his passenger about a block away, BPD said.
They arrested the driver, a 31-year-old San Ramon man, on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence causing injury, authorities said.
Two people in the other vehicle, a 62-year-old San Francisco man and a 54-year-old Vallejo woman, were evaluated at the scene for pain from the collision but did not require hospital transport.
As of this week, the driver was not in custody and charges had not been filed. (Charging decisions often take much longer when someone is out of custody.)
"SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE" A few hours after the DUI arrest, BPD officers were dispatched to Carleton Street and McGee Avenue.
A caller said a white vehicle on the block was pushing a black 2006 Dodge Charger with its alarm sounding.
When police arrived, they found both cars parked at the curb in the 1500 block of Carleton.
Just as one of the officers pulled up to the Charger, a masked man jumped out and hopped into the passenger seat of the white car, a 2012 Audi A4.
The Audi then "sped off," police said, but quickly crashed into a driver in a silver 2013 Toyota Prius after failing to stop at the stop sign at Sacramento Street.
The force of the crash caused the Prius to hit a parked vehicle and a house in the 2600 block of Sacramento Street, police said.
The Berkeley Fire Department took the Prius driver, a 36-year-old Berkeley man, to a local hospital for chest and abdominal pain.
After the crash, a woman ran from the Audi as police arrested the masked man, Brian Jovel-Nunez, without incident, BPD said.
Police found the woman, identified as Ana Robles-Nava, near Sacramento and Oregon streets and arrested her.
Jovel-Nunez (21, homeless) and Robles-Nava (19, Oakland), were arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, vehicle theft and other crimes, Berkeley police said.
BPD later determined that the Audi had been stolen from Campbell, near San Jose.
This week, the Berkeley Police Department said the DA's office is now reviewing the case after getting BPD's collision report. Neither suspect remains in custody.
MOTORCYCLE CRASH The Scanner asked police for an update on a motorcycle rider who was critically injured in a June crash. BPD said he is still alive, but provided no other details.
Emilie Raguso
LYFT DRIVER SEX CRIME CHARGES Not far from Berkeley, over the border in Emeryville, police say a Lyft driver groped his 71-year-old passenger and propositioned her for sex after locking his doors so she could not escape.
The Alameda County DA's office has now charged the driver, Aman Kumar, with assault to commit a sex crime, sexual battery by restraint and false imprisonment of an elder, all felonies.
According to charging papers, the Emeryville woman called Lyft for a ride to the grocery store and then home June 24.
When the ride was over, the driver locked his doors and asked for sex, then grabbed the woman's breast over and under her shirt, Emeryville police wrote in court papers.
"The victim repeatedly told the defendant to let her go and was able to get free from his grasp and eventually got out of the vehicle," police wrote.
Emeryville police used the driver's photo in the Lyft app and his Lyft location data to identify him and investigate the case, according to court papers.
Police found him in Oakley and arrested him on the Emeryville warrant, authorities said.
Kumar, 30, was booked into Berkeley City Jail on Aug. 3.
The San Jose resident was later transferred to Santa Rita Jail, in Dublin, where he remains without bail as of this week.
Kumar is scheduled for a bail hearing Aug. 27, according to booking records.
He has no prior felony cases listed in charging papers.
BERKELEY CRIME IS DOWN (MOSTLY) With some important caveats, crime is down in Berkeley this year compared to last year (which was also down).
We regularly check the data so we can stay on top of the trends.
First, the bad news.
With the alleged murder of Vanessa Sanchez, Berkeley had its first homicide since January 2025; last year's case was ultimately deemed self-defense.
Shootings are up, slightly. This year, Berkeley and UC police have investigated two injury shootings and six non-injury shootings.
Last year, there were no injury shootings in Berkeley aside from a non-fatal police shooting. As of this time last year, there had been eight other confirmed gunfire reports.
In 2026, vehicle theft is up 11% over last year, with 350 reported so far, according to BPD's Transparency Hub.
Grand thefts are up, with a 13% increase through July and 350 total reports.
Felony battery is slightly up, with a 4% increase (105 reports).
But most serious crime categories in Berkeley were down or flat through July.
- Robbery is down 12% (90 reports)
- Burglary (residential and commercial) is down 18% (645 reports)
- Arson is down 30% (28 reports)
- Felony sex crimes are down 35% (39 reports)
See significant police activity around town? Share photos if it's safe, and send tips when you can. There's no more police scanner traffic in Berkeley, which makes breaking news hard to track without help.
