Flock alert leads Berkeley police to wanted man with gun
The unregistered loaded handgun had a switch that allowed it to fire automatically, police said.
A Flock alert Wednesday helped Berkeley police find a wanted man with a loaded gun in his waistband, authorities said.
The alert, for a vehicle linked to a domestic violence and firearm case from January, initially came in from Grizzly Peak Boulevard shortly before 4 p.m.
Berkeley police said they found the wanted driver in the 1600 block of Solano Avenue a few minutes later.
When police arrested the driver, Carvaan Williams, they found a loaded gun in his waistband, police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.
The gun had an extended magazine and a switch that allowed it to fire automatically, classifying it as a machine gun, police said.
Williams, 21, of Berkeley was arrested on suspicion of several gun crimes, according to booking records.
The January case stemmed from a 911 call on Ellis Street at 3 p.m. Jan. 2. That day, police arrested Williams on suspicion of domestic violence and multiple gun crimes.
At the time, the district attorney's office sent the case back to Berkeley police for more investigation.
Carvaan Williams. BPD
After police found Williams' DNA on a gun seized in January, they secured a warrant for his arrest, authorities said. That warrant ultimately led to this week's Flock alert.
On Thursday, the Alameda County district attorney's office charged Williams with six felonies spanning both cases.
Charges included two counts of possession of a machine gun as well as allegations that the guns were unregistered, according to charging papers.
Bail was initially set at $370,000 in the two cases, but no amount was listed as of publication time.
Williams is scheduled for arraignment Friday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse.
