Stolen gun recovered amid Berkeley burglary arrest
The suspect was identified as 42-year-old Ajuwon Muhammad.
Police arrested a burglary suspect after a brief foot chase in downtown Berkeley on Thursday, recovering a gun in his backpack, authorities say.
The incident began at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday when someone called 911 to report a burglary in the 1100 block of Carrison Street in West Berkeley.
A resident had come home to discover their door open. A neighbor told them a stranger had been inside.
The burglar was able to get in through a window, police said.
Officers got the burglar's description and spotted him about 40 minutes later at Shattuck Avenue and Kittredge Street downtown, police said.
When officers tried to stop him, the man dumped his backpack and took off running.
Police caught up with him on Bancroft Way and arrested him, authorities said.
He was identified as 42-year-old Ajuwon Muhammad. His city of residence was not immediately available.
When police searched the backpack, they found a gun that had been stolen from another city, BPD said.
Muhammad was arrested on suspicion of having a gun and ammunition, burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm and other crimes, according to booking records.
He was also arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure in an occupied home.
Among his long list of criminal cases in Alameda County Superior Court, Muhammad was convicted of burglary in March and placed on probation, according to court records.
He is being held on $262,500 bail and is set for arraignment Tuesday.
