Work crew robbed at gunpoint on McGee Avenue in Berkeley
The workers had been using a camera to inspect the sewer pipes when the armed robbery happened, they told police.
Two men with a gun robbed a crew of workers of equipment they were using to inspect sewer pipes in central Berkeley on Tuesday morning, according to police and community reports.
The workers were in the 2300 block of McGee Avenue (near Bancroft Way) shortly before 11:40 a.m. when the men pulled up in a black car and brandished a gun at them, authorities said.
The workers had been using a camera and monitor to inspect sewer pipes when the armed robbery happened, they told police.
The robbers appeared to be about 25 years old, Hispanic and 5 foot 6, according to emergency dispatches reviewed by The Scanner.
They were wearing dark gray hoodies with masks and yellow reflective vests, according to preliminary information.
"They described one as fat and one as skinny," Berkeley police reported over the radio.
The workers were not injured during the robbery.
Responding officers searched for the suspect vehicle, which got away, and spoke to witnesses at the scene.
"This investigation is in its preliminary stages and is ongoing," Berkeley police said Tuesday.
Emilie Raguso
There have been about 170 robberies in Berkeley so far this year, a significant drop from last year's spike and also historic averages — when Berkeley saw about one robbery a day.
According to BPD data, there have been at least five other robberies, including two carjackings, in Berkeley in the past week.
About 20% of Berkeley's robberies have tended to involve a gun.
