San Pablo police make early-morning arrest in Berkeley
Flashbang grenades used during the police operation set off the fire alarm at Fourth & U, prompting a building evacuation in the middle of the night.
The San Pablo Police Department arrested an armed robbery suspect early Monday morning in West Berkeley.
The arrest took place around 3 a.m. in the 2000 block of Fourth Street at University Avenue.
Scanner readers asked about what happened after seeing a heavy police presence in the area.
"SWAT, camouflaged police/military, fire trucks at 4th and Addison," one person wrote. "Email from apartments said there was an emergency incident behind the railroad tracks and the apartments were evacuated as a precautionary measure."
Another reader described seeing "about 15 heavily armed police in front of 2060 4th Street (between University Ave and Addison Ave)," including two marked San Pablo police cruisers "and other unmarked cars and vans."
"The cars didn't arrive with sirens on," he wrote. "The building fire alarm went off and residents were able to go back inside around 3:30. There was a drone flying above and other police cars could be seen parked on University Ave overpass over 4th St."
Authorities said flashbang grenades used during the warrant service set off the fire alarm at Fourth & U, prompting the building evacuation.
On Monday afternoon, the San Pablo Police Department confirmed that its detectives had served a search warrant in Berkeley and arrested one person in connection with an armed robbery in San Pablo in January.
That person's name was not available as of publication time.
Read more about crime in Berkeley.
The arrest was the "culmination of quite a bit of follow-up by our detectives," SPPD said.
It wasn't immediately clear exactly where the arrest took place.
In an email to building residents, Fourth & U management said there had been "an emergency incident in the vicinity of our neighboring area behind the railroad tracks, which required the attention of the Fire Department and police personnel."
"Our alarms were activated as a precautionary measure," building management wrote. "This action was taken to ensure the safety of all residents by facilitating a prompt evacuation and allowing the authorities to conduct a thorough assessment of the situation."
