Parolee with gun arrested after robbery of Berkeley woman
James Thompson is being held on $285,000 bail, according to booking records.
A man has been arrested after robbing a young Berkeley woman on her way home Monday and striking her in the face, according to police.
The robbery happened Monday shortly after 1 a.m. on Russell Street near San Pablo Park, Berkeley police said.
The man may have broken the 22-year-old's teeth before running off with her laptop, according to preliminary reports.
She was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Officers found the man, 36-year-old James Dexter Thompson, and arrested him in Oakland just after 2 a.m., according to booking records.
Thompson was arrested on suspicion of robbery, battery with serious bodily injury, being a felon in possession of a firearm and other offenses, according to booking records.
He was also arrested on a parole violation, booking records show.
Thompson was initially sent to prison in 2014 for a robbery he committed several years earlier, at age 21, according to Alameda County court records.
A 2019 assault and robbery case sent him back to prison on a six-year sentence, according to court records.
His bail is set at $285,000 and he is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse.
The Scanner has requested Thompson's booking photograph and will update this story if it is provided.
Robberies are down 13% in Berkeley, with 105 reported so far this year, according to preliminary BPD data.
