Woman escapes carjacking at Berkeley gas station
Police say Ashley Frankum threatened the driver with what looked like a handgun and demanded her car keys.
A would-be carjacker confronted a woman pumping gas in northwest Berkeley on Thursday before being arrested at a nearby homeless camp, police report.
Police say suspect Ashley Frankum, 38, pointed what looked like a handgun and demanded the woman's keys during the carjacking attempt at about 3:30 p.m.
Frankum had been loitering at the Chevron station at 1300 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman Street) before the crime, authorities said.
The victim, a woman in her 40s, was able to run to safety. The suspect also fled the scene, according to police.
After getting a 911 call, Berkeley officers swarmed the area and found Frankum a few blocks away at Eighth and Harrison streets.
Multiple witnesses identified her as the suspect, police said.
During the investigation, police said they recovered the weapon Frankum used, which turned out to be a realistic-looking BB gun.
Alastair Boone
Thursday wasn't Frankum's first arrest. Localcrimenews.com arrest reports linked to her go back to 2015.
According to Alameda County court records, Frankum was charged in three separate felony cases in 2024, one of which put her on probation through June 2028.
Charges in those cases included burglary, auto burglary, criminal threats and several counts of felony vandalism, records show.
One of the cases initially resulted in a drug diversion program, but it was terminated several months later, according to court records.
Frankum also has a conviction, from 2015, for assault with a deadly weapon likely to cause great bodily injury, according to court records.
She is being held at Berkeley Jail on $200,000 bail and is set for arraignment Tuesday.
Robberies are down about 8% in Berkeley this year, with 136 incidents reported through Oct. 24, according to preliminary BPD data.
