3 women arrested after Berkeley pepper-spray robbery series
The women were identified as Sabrina Wilson and Maya Bozeman-Stewart, both 20 years old, and 19-year-old Nyanna Lane Green.
Three young women were arrested this week in connection with a series of Berkeley robberies where the victims were pepper-sprayed, authorities report.
The Berkeley police investigation began a week ago when three pepper-spray robberies took place Thursday night in less than an hour.
That followed additional pepper-spray robbery reports in Berkeley on Monday and Tuesday nights.
The trio was arrested Wednesday night in Union City in a carjacked vehicle, authorities said, hours after two more Berkeley robbery reports authorities believe are linked to the same crew.
Those robberies, which did not involve pepper spray, took place at 1 p.m. in the 2300 block of Carleton Street and 5:45 p.m. in the 3000 block of Acton Street.
In one of those robberies, an individual was left bleeding after being punched in the face. In the other, the culprit grabbed the victim's hair while taking their bag, according to preliminary reports.
The arrested women were identified as Sabrina Wilson and Maya Bozeman-Stewart, both 20 years old, and 19-year-old Nyanna Lane Green.
(Their cities of residence were not available as of publication time.)
All three women were arrested on suspicion of carjacking, robbery, conspiracy, receiving stolen property and possession of a stolen vehicle, according to jail records.
Read more about robberies in Berkeley.
Wilson has already been charged with two counts of robbery, according to court records online, in relation to both of Tuesday's robberies.
She remains in custody as of Thursday night. No bail amount was listed.
Wilson is scheduled for arraignment Friday morning at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
The other two women were no longer in custody, according to jail records online.
Emilie Raguso
BPD said the investigation is ongoing and work on the case remains underway.
The Scanner has asked Berkeley police for additional information and will update this story if it becomes available.
Robberies in Berkeley are down this year
Berkeley saw a nearly 30% increase in robberies in 2023 compared to the prior year.
So far this year, robbery reports are down, with at least 16 reports as of this week, according to the latest BPD data.
Berkeley has historically averaged about one robbery a day.
Even though reports are down, some of the robberies — including the pepper-spray robbery series — have involved more violence than usual. In some, female victims have been targeted.
The first robbery of the year took place Sunday, Jan. 7, in the 3100 block of Eton Avenue, in the Claremont-Elmwood neighborhood not far from Brookside Drive.
Berkeley police said a teenage girl had been walking on Eton Avenue when a man ran up to her from behind and "threw her to the ground" at about 7:35 p.m.
The man hit the girl while trying to grab her bag, police said.
The next day, a teenager on a scooter was able to avoid being robbed by fleeing from a man armed with a gun near the UC Berkeley campus.
In mid-January, two female teenagers were arrested in connection with a violent carjacking on University Avenue. They ended up being caught because they were unable to drive stick, a witness said.
Emilie Raguso
