Hate crime at UC Berkeley student housing: 4 arrested
Several men attacked people and yelled homophobic slurs at a party at a Berkeley student co-op, police say. Scroll down for an update.
Police arrested four young men after a suspected anti-LGBTQ hate crime at UC Berkeley student housing over the weekend.
On Friday at about 11 p.m., the group was denied entry to a house party in the 2300 block of Prospect Street, Berkeley police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.
The home, part of the Berkeley Student Cooperative, is known to host LGBTQ+ community events, authorities said.
After being turned away, one member of the group grabbed a metal barricade and tried to hit someone with it, police said.
His associates then began punching that person in the head, according to police.
Several people tried to intervene and were also attacked, police said.
No one required ambulance transport, but at least one of the victims went to the hospital on their own, police said.
Berkeley police documented the incident as a hate crime.
All four men were arrested on suspicion of felony battery with serious bodily injury, battery, conspiracy and a hate crime, according to booking records.
They were identified as Jose Gutierrez Ruvalca, Rey Dona Hermosillo and Jadrien Lopez, all 20 years old and from Martinez; and 19-year-old Nydin Trinidad of Concord.
Trinidad and Lopez were also arrested on suspicion of robbery. No further details were immediately available.
Dona Hermosillo was also arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
As of Monday, all four men remained in custody at Berkeley Jail, according to booking records.
They are scheduled for arraignment Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes are the second-largest category of hate crime reported in Berkeley, making up about 20% of the total over the past decade.
There have been seven other anti-LGBTQ reports and 38 total reports so far this year, according to preliminary BPD data on the department's Transparency Hub.
Overall, Berkeley hate crime reports appear to be keeping pace with last year's peak of 54.
This story will be updated if additional details become available.
Update, Sept. 22: Police provided the following update. It appears below in full with minor edits.
On Sept. 18 at 11:39 p.m., officers responded to a Co-op in the 2300 block of Prospect Street on a report of a fight involving 5-6 people.
When officers arrived, they learned that the Co-op had been having a party when a group of four men tried to get inside. When they were denied entry, one of the four grabbed a metal barricade and threw it at the person who denied them entry. The remaining three suspects then punched the victim repeatedly and were heard making homophobic slurs.
When the victim's friends attempted to intervene, the suspects then punched them as well.
After the attack, the suspects ran away. Officers detained two of them on Warring Street near Clark Kerr Campus. UC Police officers detained the remaining two suspects on Haste Street, near College Avenue.
All four suspects were arrested on suspicion of battery, battery causing injury, conspiracy and committing a hate crime. Because one of the suspects took a piece of jewelry from a victim, he was also arrested on suspicion of a robbery.
