Man charged with ID theft after Berkeley yoga studio burglary
Berkeley police found Anthony Beamon in a hotel room he had charged to someone else's credit card, according to court papers.
A man has been charged with identity theft after being linked by Berkeley police to $2,000 in fraudulent credit card charges, court papers show.
Berkeley police found Anthony Beamon earlier this month in a hotel room he had charged to someone else's credit card, according to charging papers.
Police also found "suspected methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, LSD and methamphetamine pipes" in the hotel room, at La Quinta Inn at 920 University Ave., BPD wrote.
The investigation began April 10 when a South Berkeley yoga studio on Adeline Street was burglarized.
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Several Apple devices were taken along with a credit card terminal, hundreds of dollars in cash and spare keys for the business, police wrote.
The yoga studio owner later found a $1,000 Apple gift card that had been purchased with her stolen credit card as well as a two-night booking for a room at La Quinta, police wrote.
The room was booked under the name Anthony Beamon, police wrote.
On April 15, when officers went to investigate, they found Beamon himself in the room.
Anthony Beamon. BPD
After he was arrested, Beamon told police he had "bought an unlocked Apple device from an unknown subject and used the victim's information to purchase the Apple gift card and hotel reservation."
Last week, the Alameda County district attorney's office charged Beamon with receiving stolen property as well as identity theft in connection with two victims, according to court papers.
Beamon, who lives in Oakland, has prior convictions in Alameda County for firearm offenses and drug sales, according to court papers.
Judge Elena Condes released him on his own recognizance on April 18, according to court papers.
She ordered Beamon not to possess "any financial document that does not belong to you" or was not legally in his name.
Beamon is set to enter a plea on May 2.
There have been at least 136 commercial burglaries in Berkeley this year compared to 178 as of last year at this time, a 24% decrease, according to BPD data.
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