Man who reported drive-by shooting actually shot himself
Braeon Tolliver, a felon with a history of domestic violence allegations, is prohibited from owning guns due to his record, police said.
A man who told police he'd been wounded in a drive-by shooting in West Berkeley this week actually shot himself, authorities now say.
The man, a felon with a history of domestic violence allegations, is prohibited from owning guns due to his record, Berkeley police said when the Scanner sought additional details about Tuesday night's report.
That night, police responded to Fourth Street and University Avenue where the man — Braeon Tolliver — told officers he had been shot in the leg by someone in a vehicle shortly after 7 p.m.
Tolliver was taken to Highland Hospital for treatment and police began to look into his claims.
Officers ultimately found Tolliver's gun discarded in the area and arrested him on suspicion of negligent discharge as well as firearm possession and violating a domestic violence restraining order, BPD said.
According to police, Tolliver's girlfriend lives near the location where he shot himself. He made threats against her life, BPD said.
Tolliver, 27, is now in custody but remains in the hospital as of Friday morning, according to booking records online and police.
No city of residence was available but he lived in Berkeley at one point, authorities said.
Emilie Raguso
According to court records, Tolliver was convicted of felony burglary in 2017 in Alameda County. He was placed on five years of probation, through March 2022.
He then had a misdemeanor child abuse case in 2019 and misdemeanor domestic violence charges in 2022, along with three charges from 2019 to 2023 related to disobeying court orders, according to records online.
All three of those cases were ultimately dismissed "pursuant to negotiated plea[s]," court records show.
Read more about crime in Berkeley.
In August of last year, Tolliver faced two new misdemeanor counts of disobeying a court order, including one related to domestic violence.
He entered a no-contest plea in September, for disobeying a court order, and was placed on three years of probation with a suspended sentence, the result of a plea deal, according to court records.
Tolliver's first court appearance in this week's case has not been scheduled pending his transfer from the hospital into jail.
Tuesday night's incident was Berkeley's second injury shooting of the year.
Last year, no one in Berkeley was wounded by gunfire until March.
See the 2024 Berkeley gunfire map to learn about other shootings in Berkeley.
