It's the first injury shooting in Berkeley since October 2024 (aside from a non-fatal police shooting last year).

The man, who appeared to be in his early 20s, was conscious at the scene, according to early reports.

Several vehicles and an apartment building were also hit, Berkeley police said.

The call came out shortly before 11 p.m. in the 3200 block of Idaho Street, authorities said.

"We've got 911 blowing up," a Berkeley Fire dispatcher reported over the radio, according to emergency dispatches reviewed by The Scanner.

TBS readers quickly asked for details.

One person said it sounded like "25 shots in succession." Another described it as "automatic weapon fire."

"I've sent gunshot reports to you in the past," a reader said, "but it was never this many shots."

The Berkeley Fire Department took the patient to Highland Hospital "Code 3" (with lights and sirens) just after 11:10 p.m., according to radio dispatches.

As of 12:10 a.m. Friday, Berkeley police remained at the scene collecting evidence.

Prior to Thursday night's shooting, there had been five non-injury shootings in and around Berkeley in 2026.

This story was updated after publication due to the developing nature of events.

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Over the weekend, in an in-depth interview with The Scanner, Kesarwani shared highlights and insights from her time in office, including lessons learned and hopes for the future.

Spoiler alert: Kesarwani has not endorsed a successor. But she said she's ready to make way for qualified candidates and is confident a strong one will emerge.

Over the years, Kesarwani has distinguished herself by her strong stances on housing, fiscal responsibility and public safety, often helping to ensure the passage of more moderate proposals.

In many ways, northwest Berkeley is one of the most complicated districts, with its longstanding challenges around homeless encampments, a waterfront that has struggled financially, and one of the most complex public housing proposals, at North Berkeley BART, that the city has seen.

It was North Berkeley BART that prompted Kesarwani to run for office in the first place.

It was 2018. Eight months pregnant, she attended the first community meeting about the housing plan.

At the time, it was barely a concept. But neighborhood interest was already high.

Linda Maio, then the council rep, helped organize the meeting. She had just announced her retirement, after 25 years, and the event included a sheet cake in her honor.

"It was packed. You could see there were strong emotions on both sides," Kesarwani said.

Back then, development in Berkeley was a more contentious topic. State law hadn't yet shifted to reduce local control, so cities had more autonomy.

As a result, housing projects were much tougher battles, taking more time and costing more money.

In 2018, Kesarwani knew she would be "the only candidate in the race who would openly support creating homes at that station."

" We now have an entirely pro-housing council. But back then that was, I think, a more courageous position," she said.

And, although she hadn't planned on using her maternity leave to run for office, "it did feel like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

After getting her English degree at Brown University, Kesarwani later went to Cal for a master's in public policy.

A self-described "policy nerd," as evidenced by her robust monthly newsletter, she went on to work in policymaking and budgets in the nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst's Office and, afterward, at the Human Services Agency in San Francisco.

At the LAO, she "was trained to think about the right policy, first and always, and the right thing to do based on the data and the evidence."

Oftentimes, in explaining her votes on the dais, Kesarwani has emphasized her evidence-based approach.

" I've always tried to put forward what I thought was the best policy," she said. "That doesn't mean I'm always right or you always agree with what I do, but I try to be fair and try to always do the right thing."

Former Berkeley council member Lori Droste called Kesarwani's decision not to run again "a real loss for Berkeley."

"She's brought a level of seriousness and integrity that is pretty rare," Droste said. "Even in heated public meetings, she didn't bend to pressure or tailor her message. She always told people the truth even when it was super hard for them to hear."

Droste recalled one public meeting related to a supportive housing project where neighbors were openly skeptical.

"She stood firm. She told them: This is what they elected her to do," said Droste. "That type of honesty and integrity is rare."

Rashi Kesarwani: "All in on housing at all levels"

It was Droste who originally recruited Kesarwani to run for office.

At the time, Kesarwani was volunteering on Laurie Capitelli's 2016 mayoral campaign.

(Capitelli ultimately lost to Jesse Arreguín.)

Droste said she had been drawn to Kesarwani's policy background, pro-housing stance and "evidence-based perspective" — something Droste very much shared.

Droste also liked that Kesarwani was volunteering on a mayoral campaign, which doesn't interest everyone.

Another person Kesarwani met in those early days was Libby Lee-Egan, a local designer who helped found East Bay for Everyone (formerly East Bay Forward), a YIMBY group that advocates for housing and density, especially near transit, among other policy positions.

Lee-Egan said Kesarwani's views on housing and homelessness set her apart from the start.

"She's gone all in on housing at all levels," said Lee-Egan. "It's nice having someone you don't have to harangue about making the wrong votes all the time."

She, too, recalled a meeting — possibly the same one described by Droste — where neighbors were angry about plans to create supportive housing at the Golden Bear Motel on San Pablo Avenue.

Kesarwani's response? "If you don't like this, you don't have to vote for me."

Lee-Egan had been impressed.

She said she had also appreciated how Kesarwani approached housing at North Berkeley BART after changes at the state allowed for more density near transit stations.

"She's a big part of its success," Lee-Egan said. "She just had a very good idea of what was possible, what was ideal, and was just sort of shifting everything towards making it as dense and big as possible."

"You don't have to vote for me."

Kesarwani herself points to the North Berkeley BART project as her highest achievement in office.

After six years of community engagement and more than 50 meetings, the development team is on track to build 739 homes at the station.

Half of them will be affordable to low-income households, resulting in three 100% affordable buildings.

Berkeley officials used $40 million from the city budget to leverage $75 million in state housing and infrastructure funds. The project is expected to break ground next year.

" I feel really proud of the fact that, as my son continues to grow up, he's going to see these buildings get built and people living in them right next to the transit station," she said. "And that was really because of my work and the work of advocates in the community, and my council colleagues and the former mayor — who all recognized the importance of creating an inclusive community."

Even though many people supported more density at BART, there were definitely residents who opposed it or lobbied for a smaller project, concerned about the impacts on the neighborhood.

Early in the process, recalled Beth Gerstein, Kesarwani's council aide, Kesarwani heard their concerns and authored a letter to the state asking officials if they might reconsider the neighborhood designation (which would limit the project size).

At the time, some residents felt the state designation didn't fit and should be more restrictive.

"She knew the answer but she also knew that letter had to go out," Gerstein said. Kesarwani wanted constituents to know she heard their concerns and was, at the very least, asking questions.

"She's very strategic," Gerstein said. "She does a masterful job of planning out how to approach different issues and policy items."

Gerstein pointed to how Kesarwani had encouraged the community process around BART, to ensure stakeholders had a chance to weigh in, and how she'd once spent two hours on the phone with a Walnut Creek resident hearing about how housing near BART had impacted their neighborhood.

"She'll talk to everybody," said Gerstein. "We talked to zoning experts, we talked to planners, we talked to people who had done similar things. Just so she can be informed of the different things to think about."

And Kesarwani often shared those themes with city staff, suggesting a new PowerPoint slide, before a big meeting, that might address concerns or misinformation.

"She's thinking about these things all of the time," Gerstein said. "She's working it in her head."

During her tenure, Kesarwani has also championed policies related to "middle housing" (building multiple homes on one lot) and corridor upzoning (still hotly contested).

An upcoming item will propose incentives for condo development.

Kesarwani describes the through-line in many of her items as policies that "promote starter home ownership opportunities."

Berkeley faces ‘tough choices’ as budget talks continue

Money for an affordable housing program may be on the chopping block. A citywide hiring freeze is already in place.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Then there's her focus on fiscal oversight.

In 2024, she spoke forcefully about the city's structural deficit long before others on the dais brought up spending cuts.

As a veteran member of the City Council Budget & Finance committee, she has kept those concerns in the foreground for years, even when it meant opposing pet projects colleagues advanced.

In 2022, Kesarwani co-authored a plan to double Berkeley's commitment to street paving — cost savings in the long run — and helped secure a $15 million state earmark for the Berkeley waterfront.

It was the largest state investment in Berkeley parks anyone could remember.

" It is sort of a niche thing to understand a public budget," she said, from vacancy assumptions to police overtime, and the complex calculations that are made when using savings from open positions to fund other needs.

Berkeley considers 10% budget cuts, with $29M deficit possible

That’s on top of the hiring freeze that began last year and is projected to continue.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

This year, the city is looking at even harder budget decisions — with 10% cutbacks, or more, under consideration. Some staffers have already been advised of potential layoffs.

"There's no emergency reason to draw on the reserves. Revenues are just not enough to cover expenditures," Kesarwani said. "We are in this situation where the bills have come due."

She's still looking for solutions.

In January, she authored a proposal to increase Berkeley's sales tax to match neighboring cities. If voters approve it, it's expected to raise about $10 million a year.

There would still be a $20 million gap in the general fund budget — but it would be something.

"I always said yes to permanent supportive housing"

The other large challenge in District 1 has been its homeless encampments.

The freeways and industrial neighborhoods of northwest Berkeley have seen sprawling encampments come and go.

Some have been cleared — on University Avenue at I-80; along Second Street — but others, particularly around the Harrison Street corridor, remain.

Kesarwani said the city has taken a "multi-pronged approach" to addressing the issue, through permanent supportive housing options and "putting forth an encampment policy that has worked."

The supportive housing piece has resulted in the conversion of five District 1 motels into "non-congregate" housing that homeless people are more likely to accept.

Berkeley's investment in supportive housing has contributed to a 45% drop in unsheltered homelessness, the city says, far outpacing surrounding jurisdictions.

"I always said yes to permanent supportive housing," said Kesarwani.

Berkeley votes to tackle its most hazardous homeless camps

The vote came after hours of impassioned public comment with most speakers urging the city not to criminalize the homeless.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Kesarwani has been a staunch advocate for "housing first" models — and she's also stood firm for closures and enforcement, or encampment resolutions, under the right circumstances.

In 2024, she authored a policy that would allow Berkeley staff to clean up encampments the city deemed hazardous, even when it couldn't offer housing to everyone.

It was a major shift, following the Grants Pass U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in what had been a largely hands-off approach during the pandemic.

Some, including local business owners, say Kesarwani has not done nearly enough to tackle problematic encampments, or that Berkeley's supportive housing motels cause spillover problems in the neighborhood.

On the other side, critics of the encampment resolution policy say "sweeps" are detrimental to unsheltered residents and the communities they need for survival.

Last year, that policy, along with a related RV buyback program, helped the city close a longstanding encampment at Second and Cedar streets.

" I want the public to recognize that the policy works," Kesarwani said. " It's working on Second Street. It continues to be clear, with the signage. It's not working on Harrison Street because of litigation the city has faced."

Ohlone Park homeless camp closure set for this week

People on both sides say they are considering legal action.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Enforcement around homeless encampments has not been the only area where Kesarwani has advanced public safety.

She has often backed a more traditional approach to law enforcement — not always a popular view in Berkeley — while also endorsing efforts, particularly after George Floyd's death, to address racial disparities in policing.

"We need to empower our police department with technology"

Notably, since last year she has authored items she says will modernize Berkeley police policies for helicopters, K-9s and pepper spray, and supported public safety technologies like license plate readers and drones.

"I have been somebody who believes very strongly that we need to empower our police department with technology that can leverage the staff that we have," said Kesarwani. "Because we are in a staffing crisis like a lot of other police departments."

Kesarwani's positions on public safety and housing have sometimes drawn criticism.

When she ran for re-election four years ago, her push for housing at North Berkeley BART was a key issue in the race. A run-off election left her with 53% of the vote.

Over the years, she said, she's had to learn how to remain steady under pressure and push through exhaustion, with marathon meetings sometimes lasting past 1 a.m.

"It's challenging to be an elected official at any level," she said. "It does take a lot out of you on a regular basis to face the criticism."

The pressure is real. In 2024, two Berkeley City Council members — Rigel Robinson and Kate Harrison — resigned mid-term, just weeks apart, citing stressors related to the job.

The strain comes, in part, from making weighty decisions that inspire months of heated public comment. There can be nasty emails, often. Not to mention protests and disruptions at meetings.

After Oct. 7, local activists pushed hard for the Berkeley City Council to adopt a Gaza Ceasefire resolution, showing up in sometimes unruly ways. Officials never caved.

But, at times, they took refuge in a back room to continue their business — which the courts later said violated open meeting laws.

"Those were difficult meetings," said Kesarwani. "Where I'm asking the city manager about a metal detector wand, for instance. And whether I can get a police escort to my car. Or how am I going to exit if the meeting gets out of hand. Those are tough times."

She said many attendees at public meetings often seem to forget that their view is not the only one.

"I am the council member. I get all the emails," she said. "I have the relationships with thousands of people in the district. And so I also have a gauge on who's not here — who doesn't have a problem with it. That can be hard for folks to understand."

" I definitely know that those voices are not necessarily representative of the 15,000 residents that I have the responsibility of representing," she added.

As she winds down her time on council in the coming months, Kesarwani has gone back to full-time budget and fiscal policy work. In the future, she's considering shifting her emphasis to local housing and homelessness.

But that's a decision for another day.

"My focus right now is finishing the council term strong," she said.

" I really don't regret any vote I've taken. But you definitely want to learn from everything. And do better to continually improve," Kesarwani said. "And you're doing all this in public. So it's different from any other job that I've had, or that I would expect to do in the future."

Come November, northwest Berkeley's District 1 won't be the only open seat on the Berkeley City Council.

Last week, Cecilia Lunaparra — the Southside Berkeley rep in District 7 — said she would step aside when this term ends to focus on other things.

Lunaparra has already thrown her support behind Syrak Micael, who launched his campaign Friday.

In downtown Berkeley (District 4), Igor Tregub has said he will run again. So will Mark Humbert in the Claremont-Elmwood neighborhood (District 8).

For now, Kesarwani said she's not backing any particular D1 candidate — yet.

But she said she knows what she's looking for: someone who is committed to "a vibrant, safe and inclusive community. Fiscal oversight. Making decisions using evidence."

Not to mention a collaborative spirit with colleagues across the dais.

" I have tried to do that, and I hope that whoever is in this role will continue to do that, too," she said.

The crash was reported just after 8:10 p.m. at Adeline and Harmon streets in South Berkeley.

Firefighters found the pedestrian on the ground at the scene.

After the crash, authorities closed the roadway in the northbound direction for the investigation, Berkeley police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.

It is expected to reopen soon.

The driver may have been in a dark-colored sedan, police said.

Officers remain at the scene speaking with witnesses and taking measurements.

The pedestrian, a man in his 20s, lost consciousness and did not recall the crash.

He was struck by a driver going approximately 40 mph and flung about 15 feet, according to early reports.

Read more about traffic safety in Berkeley.

The pedestrian was taken to Highland Hospital, the regional trauma center, after the collision.

As of publication time, the investigation was ongoing.

Based on the initial determination, the man was expected to survive, police said.

Berkeley police got several calls Monday at about 7:20 a.m. about a naked man who was "running down the street smashing windows" near Eighth and Gilman streets.

While they were responding, callers said the man had a shotgun and had gone inside the Tesla Service Center, at 901 Gilman St., and was pointing the weapon at people inside.

Thinking there was an active shooter, a number of people ran outside in fear.

As officers began to set up a perimeter, the man burst out the front door screaming, holding the shotgun in his hand, authorities said.

Police ordered him to stop but he kept running in their direction, BPD said.

According to police, the officer who was in the man's sights "took cover" behind a pillar and then managed to tackle him when he got close.

Several officers then worked together to restrain and handcuff him, police said.

No one inside the Tesla repair shop was hurt, but employees were shaken up, said BPD spokesman Officer Byron White.

"It all worked out, but it could have gone differently," he said.

Police seized the man's shotgun as evidence and obtained a gun violence restraining order to keep him from having weapons, BPD said.

They also got a search warrant for his warehouse, in the 1300 block of Eighth Street about a block away, where they "discovered evidence that the suspect had discharged the shotgun" several times, police said.

Edward Teece. BPD

BPD identified the man as 35-year-old Edward Teece of Berkeley.

He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm in public, and willfully discharging a firearm in a negligent manner, police said.

According to online bios, Teece is from Berkeley but attended private high school Phillips Andover, in Massachusetts, before rowing crew at Yale.

Police said they were thankful no one was hurt and "grateful for all the people who called to report the suspect’s location so that officers could quickly take the man into custody."

As of Tuesday, Teece is being held on $175,000 bail at Santa Rita Jail.

The Alameda County district attorney's office has charged him with discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, resisting arrest and two counts of assault with a firearm, according to court records.

Teece is set for arraignment Wednesday.

Going forward, said U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, campers must also get more space for their tents and belongings — as long there's room for someone to pass.

Over the weekend, in three separate rulings, Chen denied an "indefinite pause on abatement" but outlined what the city must do before clearing the Harrison corridor encampment around Eighth Street.

Berkeley says it must act quickly to curtail ongoing problems with leptospirosis, a potentially deadly bacteria spread by rats.

The city originally announced plans to remove the Harrison encampment in December 2024 but, in the weeks that followed, the Berkeley Homeless Union sued to block the action, citing disability claims.

Read more about homeless camps in Berkeley.

In broad strokes, in his recent orders, Chen said the city does not need to designate a safe relocation site for Harrison encampment residents but must help with the relocation or storage of their property unless items are "plausibly contaminated" or present "a genuine health or safety risk."

He also ordered the city to provide a replacement tent and other "survival gear," such as sleeping bags and clothing, if those items must be destroyed or do not allow a 6-foot passage on the sidewalk at whatever new site the camper selects.

(In January, the city set a "safety buffer" around Eighth and Harrison, of one-third of a mile, and said campers must move outside that zone to allow for the leptospirosis cleanup.)

In his rulings, the judge also prohibited the city from towing or destroying vehicles in the Harrison corridor without (1) first "pursuing less restrictive alternatives"; and (2) making individual findings that the vehicles obstruct traffic or pose a safety threat.

Berkeley sets March 9 deadline to leave Harrison encampment

Eight people seeking disability accommodations are excluded from the order, which declares the Harrison Street corridor a “no-lodging area.”

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

In a separate order, Chen issued specific rules for 16 people who say they require accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He said "the City must conduct individualized assessments" of each of them "to ensure that they have reasonably sufficient space in which to establish shelter" wherever they move.

Chen said Berkeley's typical "3x3 rule" — that possessions fit within a 3-by-3-foot area — should not apply to those individuals because of their disabilities.

He went on to write that he had seen "no evidence" that "any tent providing shelter" could fit within a 3-by-3 space.

"The City must account for the claimant’s disability-related needs, the actual width and physical characteristics of the sidewalk in question, as well as the public interest in maintaining a reasonable path of travel," he wrote.

Chen said the city could not apply the "3x3 rule" to the tents of non-disabled residents either, "so long as the tent does not unreasonably interfere with sidewalk passage," which is required to be at least 6 feet.

"We did not win everything," said Yesica Prado, president of the Berkeley Homeless Union, in Monday's announcement. "But we won something that no one can take away: our homes. The Court made sure that when we leave, we can take our tents, our vehicles, and still camp with each other without facing serial evictions. That is not nothing. That is hope."

And the case isn't over, the Berkeley Homeless Union added.

The matter is "still very much alive," and set for trial in October, said Anthony Prince, who represents the Berkeley Homeless Union (as general counsel for the California Homeless Union).

Meanwhile, the city has filed two appeals with the Ninth Circuit since November, arguing that the Berkeley Homeless Union lacks standing to sue the city; challenging its ADA claims; and saying Judge Chen's "serial extensions" of his 2025 injunction, blocking abatement, "violate binding Ninth Circuit precedent."

Those matters remain active.

As part of its announcement, the Berkeley Homeless Union said it would "confront" Mayor Adena Ishii about the Ninth Circuit appeals at 5 p.m. Monday outside a meeting she was set to attend near the UC Berkeley campus.

The group said it wants Ishii to place a resolution to rescind those appeals on an upcoming Berkeley City Council agenda.

Neither the mayor's office nor the city of Berkeley responded to requests for comment Monday.

Police say surveillance cameras caught Lawrence Fabiani and Eddie Cheung inside the San Leandro Patelco in late December trying to "acquire power of attorney and take over the account."

The men managed to make off with a $6,600 cashier's check and "left with the power of attorney paperwork," Berkeley police wrote in court papers.

On Jan. 2, police say Fabiani went to another Patelco branch and tried unsuccessfully to withdraw $40,000 from the man's account.

The same day, Cheung went back to Patelco with the power of attorney paperwork to "complete an account takeover," police wrote.

"He was fidgeting and nervous throughout the encounter," according to court papers.

"The banker became suspicious," police wrote, and was able to determine by phone that the man in the bank did not have anyone's permission to take on power of attorney.

On March 11, Adult Protective Services contacted the Berkeley Police Department after turning up a $25,000 check, with a forged signature, that was drawn against the victim's account.

Police say Cheung and Fabiani also tried to take over the man's Fidelity accounts, and that authorities found a separate bank account linked to those accounts that had been opened in his name without his permission.

In addition to raising the suspicions of bank authorities and APS, the mother of Fabiani's friend also reported him, police wrote.

When Fabiani showed up one day for a surprise visit to her son, two California IDs fell out of his pocket, police wrote.

His friend's mother noticed that one of the IDs had Fabiani's photograph — but another man's name on it.

It turned out to be the Berkeley resident with Alzheimer's disease, police wrote.

The woman took pictures of both IDs and made a report to the Alameda County DA's office.

In March, the DA's office charged Cheung with theft from an elder, grand theft of personal property, identity theft and obtaining money by false pretenses on Dec. 29, 2025; and identity theft and obtaining money by false pretenses on Jan. 2.

Fabiani was charged with theft from an elder, grand theft, identity theft and attempted obtaining money by false pretenses on Dec. 29.

Both men have denied the allegations.

Cheung's felony convictions date back to 2010 and include two robberies, grand theft, vehicle theft, and battery with serious bodily injury.

Fabiani's convictions date back to 2009 and include several counts of vehicle theft, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, and felony evasion, among many other arrests.

According to court records, Cheung was released on $25,000 bail and Fabiani on $10,000 bail, both last month.

Public records show that Cheung was already arrested again, last week in Alameda, on gun possession allegations. Police said he had two rifles in his back seat when officers pulled him over.

No charges have been filed in that case and Cheung does not appear to be in custody, according to available records.

Both men are set to return to court in the elder theft case April 17 for a pretrial hearing.

The Scanner has requested their booking photographs from BPD and will update this story when they are provided.

On Saturday morning, Walnut Creek police called Berkeley police while searching for a vehicle belonging to a woman in her 60s, BPD said.

The woman, who had been describing thoughts of suicide, had told a family member she was going for a walk.

But he later realized the car was gone.

Police were able to locate the vehicle in Emeryville through the Flock camera system, BPD said.

Walnut Creek police then asked Berkeley police to search the marina based on the woman's prior visits to the area, BPD said.

Berkeley police and firefighters responded quickly, and found the woman's car parked near the water.

But she was already deceased when they arrived shortly before 10 a.m.

Readers asked about police activity at the marina, resulting in this report.

The quake's epicenter was in Boulder Creek, about 30 minutes north of the city of Santa Cruz off Highway 9.

The temblor was recorded at 1:41 a.m. with a depth of 6.7 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

Writing on Reddit, Berkeley residents said the earthquake woke them up.

"Shook my whole house," one person wrote.

"I got an alert on my phone for it like 30 seconds before I felt it," wrote another.

UC Berkeley put out an alert about the earthquake at 1:41 a.m.

"An earthquake of initial magnitude 5.1 was detected at or near Boulder Creek, CA, with expected shaking in Berkeley," authorities wrote. "Please drop (lock), cover, and hold on if you feel shaking. This WarnMe message is powered by MyShake."

In an update just before 2:20 a.m., UC announced the "all clear."

"There has been minimal impact on campus, and no damage has been reported. Aftershocks are possible," UC Berkeley wrote.

About an hour after the earthquake, the USGS downgraded it from a 4.9 to a 4.6 magnitude.

Learn more about the MyShake app. This story was updated after publication due to the developing nature of events.

Berkeley earthquakes since 2023

There have been 12 earthquakes in or near Berkeley, of magnitude 2.5 or greater, since Jan. 1, 2023, according to USGS data.

• July 27, 2023: magnitude 2.7 in Berkeley on Roble Road
• Oct. 4, 2023: magnitude 2.5 in Berkeley just east of The Uplands
• Oct. 24, 2023: magnitude 2.5 in Berkeley on Cyclotron Road
• April 6, 2024: magnitude 3.2 in Oakland under the Claremont Hotel
• April 1, 2025: magnitude 2.7 in Oakland east of Grizzly Peak Boulevard
• June 1, 2025: magnitude 2.5 in Oakland just south of Highway 24
• Aug. 31, 2025: magnitude 2.6 in Berkeley at Clark Kerr
• Sept. 22, 2025: magnitude 4.3 near UC Berkeley
• Sept. 22, 2025: magnitude 2.6 near Claremont Avenue and Tunnel Road
• Sept. 22, 2025: magnitude 2.9 on Prince Street near Claremont Avenue
• Sept. 25, 2025: magnitude 2.8 between Tunnel and Alvarado roads
• Oct. 16, 2025: magnitude 3.0 under Calvin Lab at UC Berkeley

More Berkeley earthquake resources

• Learn about quakes in and around Berkeley since 2023
• Read more about Berkeley earthquakes on The Scanner
• Learn more about the Hayward Fault on the USGS website and find out how close you live to it
• Brush up on earthquake preparedness tips from the city of Berkeley
• Share your top earthquake resources in the comments

The investigation began last week Tuesday, March 24, when police say Herbert Mitchell stabbed the woman when she told him to stop making critical remarks.

According to Berkeley police, Mitchell pulled out a "shank that people make in jail" and stabbed her with the 6- or 7-inch silver blade.

The knife narrowly missed the woman's eye and left a 2-inch laceration that required seven stitches at the hospital, according to court papers.

Read more about crime in Berkeley.

After the stabbing, officers responded to the area, outside E-Z Stop Deli, at 2233 Shattuck Ave. in downtown Berkeley, and began looking for the suspect.

But the woman didn't know his full name or where he lived, police wrote.

Witnesses said the man had a "lazy eye" and used a red electric wheelchair, details that ultimately aided in his identification.

Members of BPD's Bike Detail, which often patrols downtown, recognized the description from a man they'd seen around the neighborhood, 65-year-old Herbert Mitchell.

When police found and arrested Mitchell the day after the stabbing, he was carrying "three different drugs packaged for sale" along with about $140 in mixed currency, BPD wrote.

Authorities identified the drugs as suspected crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.

Police said they believed they were intended for sale due to the amounts of the substances, that there were different types of them, and that Mitchell possessed no paraphernalia for using them himself.

They also noted that Mitchell had two prior convictions on his rap sheet related to drug sales.

After arresting Mitchell, police continued to work on the case, securing a search warrant for his home on Grant Street to look for more evidence, BPD wrote.

That's where they found a safe containing nearly $1,000 "in mixed denominations" along with more than 18 grams of suspected methamphetamine, more than 15 grams of suspected crack cocaine and more than 14 grams of suspected psilocybin mushrooms, police wrote in court papers.

Last week, the Alameda County DA's office charged Mitchell with three counts of drug sales, including allegations that he possessed a "large quantity of contraband," according to court records.

He was charged separately with assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the stabbing.

According to court records, Mitchell has felony convictions dating back to 1987 for drug sales, attempted robbery, petty theft, assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence, as well as at least one strike.

As of this week, Mitchell is being held at Santa Rita Jail with a combined bail of $75,000.

He is set for a pretrial hearing Monday.

After reviewing your feedback carefully, we're moving forward with a one-month "open comments" pilot in April.

That means, instead of limiting participation to about 1,400 people, our full list of more than 12,000 people will have the chance to weigh in.

Still: Most probably won't. Online dialogue is not to everyone's taste. Particularly these days.

But, as others close the doors and shut down debate, we think we have a unique opportunity to broaden the conversation as our readership grows, ideally making the comments section livelier and even more interesting.

Importantly, opening comments does not mean TBS will become a free-for-all.

No one can comment without clicking a login link in their inbox from a verified email address.

And, if there are problems, we can step in. More on that below.

How to comment on The Berkeley Scanner

Now, the fun part. You can update your profile and add a short bio right from the comments section.

We've created a quick video to show you this hidden feature. We hope you'll make use of it.

Real names are encouraged, as are bios that show your Berkeley connection or something else you'd like to share with the community.

The 30-day trial starts today, April 1, and runs through the end of the month. 

• Ready to comment? Start by signing in
• Not on the list? You'll need to register

Speaking of tips, you can sort comments by newest or oldest via the toggle at the top of the section. The default view is "best," which takes "likes" into account.

Keep reading to learn how to offer feedback, what our comments policy actually says and what to do if you think there's a problem.

What to do if a comment violates our policy

The easiest way to report a comment is to click the "three-dot" menu right underneath it.

This sends us an email and makes the review process much easier.

If commenters generate complaints, we will explain the concerns to them.

If that doesn't work, we can hide problematic comments or turn off the ability to comment altogether.

That said: Our general preference and philosophy is a light hand in the comments section — and for people to be able to debate and disagree respectfully.

For the most part, we aim not to intervene unless there are clear policy violations, particularly if you feel unsafe or threatened.

Will more comments mean more work? It may. We'll be transparent about how the test is going. If it proves unsustainable, we'll say so.

Reminder: What is the TBS comments policy?

At The Berkeley Scanner, community dialogue and engagement are core to our mission. We believe in the robust exchange of diverse ideas and that there's much to learn from reader input.

We ask you to follow a few basic rules and reserve the right to delete comments that violate this policy.

• No hate speech, doxxing or threats
• Keep it civil — especially when you disagree
• Jerky behavior toward other commenters will be removed
• Don't be repetitive or flood the feed
• Try to add something new to the conversation or move it forward
• Folks who repeatedly flout the rules and ignore TBS feedback may be banned

What happens next with TBS comments?

This is a trial, not a permanent change. If it doesn't work, we'll roll it back. It's a simple click of a button.

We know some of you are skeptical, or prefer to keep this as a member perk. We promise we hear you and we hope you'll continue to share input.

In May, we'll share what we‘ve learned in our monthly recap. (We hope you've been enjoying this new feature!)

And we'll be watching closely to see how this develops. We hope you will be too.

Thank you for helping to shape our decision. We look forward to your feedback in the coming weeks.

Officials announced the effort Tuesday, calling it a "dream come true" and a "once-in-a-generation opportunity."

Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit with a 50-year history, said it had worked "in partnership" with the East Bay Regional Park District to secure an option agreement on the property.

"We are still early in the process and will be engaging community members and stakeholders across the region in supporting acquisition of this essential missing link in an interconnected shoreline park system," said Guillermo Rodriguez, director of California operations for Trust for Public Land.

An option agreement gives a buyer the right to purchase a site — but does not finalize the deal.

On Tuesday, The Mercury News reported that the $175 million purchase from track owner The Stronach Group is expected to close next year.

"Under the terms of the option agreement, the Stronach Group will remove all of the buildings from the site," the newspaper, which broke the story, reported. "Those include stables for 1,420 horses and a grandstand that seated approximately 8,000 people. The property also includes parking for 8,500 cars. It was unclear Tuesday how much environmental cleanup might be required."

Horse racing at Golden Gate Fields ended in 2024 after 83 years in operation.

Golden Gate Fields: What's next for the park deal?

Exactly what comes next was not outlined in Tuesday's announcement, which highlighted excitement from all corners: from park officials and environmentalists to a long list of leaders, including California State Sen. Jesse Arreguín, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, the mayors of both Berkeley and Albany, and City Councilwoman Rashi Kesarwani, who represents northwest Berkeley, where part of the property sits.

Kesarwani called the plan to transform the 161-acre parcel, on the San Francisco Bay, a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a world-class waterfront that belongs to everyone."

Tuesday's statement also emphasized how the Golden Gate Fields property would "fill the remaining gap" connecting open spaces along the 8.5-mile McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, which runs from the Bay Bridge up to Richmond's Point Isabel.

This part of the coast, wrote Trust for Public Land, "represents one of the largest remaining opportunities to expand public access to the Bay while investing in a shoreline that is more resilient to flooding and sea level rise."

The organization said it will now "work with partners to acquire the property and transfer it to the East Bay Regional Park District for long-term ownership and stewardship."

The Scanner has requested additional details in an effort to learn more.

On March 14, officers were dispatched shortly after 8 p.m. to investigate a report of a man who had followed two students on the UC Berkeley campus.

One of the students told police the stranger had followed her and a friend from Wurster Hall through the Haas School of Business to Bowles Hall, police said.

When the students were near the business school, the man got closer and grabbed her buttocks, she told the University of California Police Department.

The students sought safety inside and called police as the stranger continued to follow them, according to authorities.

But, when police arrived, the man was gone.

Police began searching for him with the help of video footage, UCPD said.

Jonathan Rosales Contreras. ACSO

About an hour later, a student called police from the Clark Kerr Campus to say a stranger was loitering inside the building after following her from a sorority in the Southside neighborhood.

He was identified as Jonathan Rosales Contreras, a 20-year-old San Leandro man, and arrested.

On March 17, the Alameda County district attorney's office charged Rosales with one count of misdemeanor sexual battery.

He entered a not-guilty plea and was released on $15,000 bail.

Rosales, whose last name is also listed as Contreras, is set for a readiness hearing, to prepare for trial, April 2, according to court records.

He has several other local arrests listed in public records but no other charged criminal cases.

One of the residents said he woke to the sound of shouting and opened his eyes to find his home on fire.

"The flames were already almost right at my bedroom door," he said.

Deputy Berkeley Fire Chief Keith May said a neighbor initially called 911 to report the fire at 2:51 a.m. Then more calls started coming.

When firefighters arrived, they found side-by-side two-story apartment buildings on fire in the 2300 block of Ninth Street, north of Channing Way.

Residents were able to leave the buildings on their own, authorities said.

BFD upgraded the response to a two-alarm fire and had PG&E come to the scene as well, May said.

Oakland and El Cerrito firefighters also responded to the city, according to radio traffic reviewed by The Scanner.

BFD declared the fire under control just after 3:35 a.m.

One person was assessed for a possible medical issue but was not transported, May said. There were no injuries reported.

The Bay Area Chapter of the American Red Cross will assess the needs of the 10 families who were displaced, May said.

As of publication time, the fire's cause was still under investigation and no damage estimate was available, May said.

In the morning, the street was busy with residents, neighbors and workers making repairs as well as police and firefighters.

By the afternoon, the Red Cross had joined them.

The resident who described waking up to his neighbors shouting and his home on fire said he had lost everything in the blaze.

He said he had left his bedroom door open, which allowed the fire to get inside. Other units had less damage.

"Only God knows why these things happen, right?" he said. "Either way, it's just about pushing on, giving it your all and starting over."

Ariel Nava contributed reporting to this story.

Just before 2:45 a.m., a young woman called 911 to report an intruder in her rental home in the 2300 block of McKinley Avenue, Berkeley police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.

She had been startled to find a man inside the house, police said. He had a woman with him.

Read more about crime in Berkeley.

A neighbor told TBS she had woken up to the sound of two women screaming, then looked outside to see lights coming on as police pulled up on the block.

Officers found the man — identified as 40-year-old Jorge Molina Rodriguez — still inside the home with a woman who said she wasn't there by choice, authorities said.

The victim, an Oakland woman in her 50s, said she had also been sexually assaulted in Oakland sometime before the Berkeley incident, BPD said. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.

On Monday, community members told TBS that Molina began showing up on the block in 2024, ostensibly to help a largely homebound woman in her 60s as a handyman.

There were a number of red flags, however, prompting reports to police and other welfare agencies, neighbors said.

The handyman would sometimes stay overnight on the woman's couch, parking his large white work truck outside. He emptied out much of the home, including her antique Japanese furniture, neighbors said.

He got her to buy him a Tesla — and then had her take on roommates to make the car payments, neighbors said.

Increasingly, she began to struggle to cover basic expenses like food.

The woman has lived on the block for more than 30 years, neighbors said. After her mother developed dementia and died, things got worse.

Neighbors said they had worried that the woman was vulnerable and that she was being taken advantage of.

They made reports, and authorities from multiple agencies came and investigated. But the woman told them the man was helping her, so no action was taken, neighbors said.

It was her home where police found Molina on Monday, neighbors said, after her roommate, who is in her 20s, called for help.

BPD arrested him at 3:45 a.m. on suspicion of kidnapping and rape in connection with the Oakland woman he had brought to Berkeley, according to police and booking records.

He is now being held at Berkeley Jail on $200,000 bail.

Later in the morning, Berkeley police officers went back to the block to look for evidence, speak with neighbors and canvass for video. The department's Crime Scene Unit was also there.

The residential block near the police station is usually quiet — aside from the time someone escaped from Berkeley Jail, one woman told The Scanner.

"This is a tight neighborhood where everybody knows everybody," she said. "We look out for each other. This is just a shock to everyone."

Neighbors said they are now renewing their efforts to get the woman help.

Molina, who lives in Hayward, is set for arraignment Thursday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland, according to court records.

He has no prior criminal cases listed in Alameda County Superior Court.

No booking photograph was immediately available due to the ongoing investigation, Berkeley police said.