Berkeley police see uptick in gun cases in recent weeks
Police have seized at least six firearms in Berkeley since Dec. 28 in connection with five arrests around the city.
Police arrested a man early Monday morning after he reportedly pointed a gun at people in a crowded block near UC Berkeley, authorities report.
It was only the latest in a growing list of cases involving guns in Berkeley in recent weeks.
Limited details were available about Monday's arrest, but police said they were called to the 2500 block of Durant Avenue shortly after midnight to investigate a report of an older white man in yellow pants who was pointing a musket at people outside Kingpin Donuts.
The Southside block is often crowded with UC Berkeley students drawn to the many late-night restaurants in the area.
Berkeley police officers responded immediately and arrived on Durant within less than a minute.
When they ordered the suspect to drop his weapon, he complied. He was taken into custody without incident, police said.
The man, later identified as 52-year-old William Wenzel Neuburger, was arrested on suspicion of several gun-related allegations.
He does not appear to have had other criminal cases in Alameda County.
Neuburger is being held on $160,000 bail and is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday.
Berkeley car stop leads to new gun case
Earlier in the weekend, on Saturday night shortly before midnight, Berkeley police made a traffic stop that led to the seizure of suspected drugs and a loaded handgun.
Police said they found the gun when they pulled over 44-year-old Chester Jenkins Jr. after observing an equipment violation on his white Pontiac.
Police ultimately arrested Jenkins just over the South Berkeley border on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed, loaded firearm in a vehicle and related violations.
According to court records, Jenkins' first conviction in Alameda County was a 2008 domestic violence case.
In 2013, he was charged with armed robbery, which included the charge of possession of a firearm by a narcotic addict. According to court records, that case was resolved through a plea deal.
Jenkins was charged again in Alameda County in 2014 with possession of a firearm by a narcotic addict. That case resulted in a two-year state prison sentence, according to court records.
In 2017, he was charged with the use of tear gas, also a felony, and entered a no-contest plea, which led to a three-year stint on probation.
As of Monday, he remained in custody with a bail of $335,000, according to booking records. He is also scheduled for arraignment Wednesday.
Car theft suspect found with stolen gun
A community member called police Dec. 29 just before 3:45 p.m. to report suspicious activity — a possible auto theft underway — in the 800 block of Carleton west of Seventh Street in West Berkeley.
When police arrived, they found Michael Woods Jr. standing near a white van with a screwdriver in his hand, according to charging papers. Woods tried to flee in a nearby Hyundai but police stopped him, BPD wrote in charging papers.
Police said they found a stolen gun, which was loaded, in Woods' waistband during a search. BPD also determined that the Hyundai had been stolen from Oakland.
According to BPD, Woods admitted he had been using the screwdriver to try to steal the van.
Police also said they found a stolen laptop and used meth pipe in the stolen Hyundai.
In charging papers, BPD noted that Woods had been arrested 14 times in Alameda County over the past eight years in connection with vehicle theft or being in possession of stolen vehicles.
He "has 32 failures to appear," BPD wrote. His most recent prior vehicle theft arrest in Alameda County took place in September, according to charging papers.
Last week, the Alameda County DA's office charged Woods with vehicle theft and being in possession of a stolen car, both in relation to the Hyundai, possession of a firearm by a felon, carrying a loaded firearm in public, possession of ammunition by a prohibited person and receiving stolen property.
According to charging papers, Woods was convicted of robbery in 2008 and sent to prison in addition to multiple convictions for vehicle theft and receiving stolen property between 2006 and 2019.
Woods has one strike, according to charging papers.
As of Monday, he remains in custody with a bail of $205,000, according to court records. His next court hearing date was not listed as of publication time.
Ghost gun found after Berkeley shoplifting report
The same weekend BPD arrested Woods, police also recovered a ghost gun from a convicted killer while investigating a shoplifting report from Target.
Police wrote that security officers observed 29-year-old Jayne Waller leave the Target store at 1414 University Ave. shortly before 9 p.m. Dec. 28 and give about $600 in stolen goods to another man, later identified as 39-year-old Jonathan Q. Brown.
Store security called Berkeley police and followed the pair to the North Berkeley BART station where BPD officers detained both men, according to charging papers.
BPD determined that Waller, a Vallejo resident, was on probation. Officers found cocaine in his possession during his arrest, according to court papers.
Brown, meanwhile, had an active felony warrant from a case involving allegations of criminal threats, police wrote. He also had a no-bail warrant related to parole violation.
When police searched Brown's bag, they found a loaded Glock handgun with no serial number as well as an additional 10-round magazine, according to charging papers.
The Alameda County DA's office charged Brown with possession of a firearm by a felon and receiving stolen property, among other crimes.
Waller was charged with petty theft, on suspicion of taking blenders, dice and other items from Target, and drug possession.
According to court papers, Brown has convictions for voluntary manslaughter and street terrorism, from a killing in San Francisco in February 2015, as well as a felony conviction for cocaine sales, in San Francisco in 2009, and other drug sales in San Francisco in 2014.
Brown reportedly has one strike, according to charging papers.
Waller — who was sent to prison after striking a man with a hammer during a Berkeley protest in 2014 — was released on his own recognizance, with a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 15.
Brown remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $165,000, according to booking records. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Jan. 13.
Old Berkeley warrant prompts new gun case
A man was also charged this past week in connection with a Berkeley gun case from a year ago.
According to court records, South San Francisco police pulled over Mathewos Ogbe on New Year's Eve and arrested him in connection with a Berkeley warrant from last year.
The investigation started Jan. 1, 2024, when a resident in the 1600 block of Alcatraz Avenue, near King Street in South Berkeley, found an abandoned Honda Accord in their front yard just before 7 a.m.
The driver had struck the resident's fence and fled, leaving the car running, police wrote.
When BPD searched the car, they found a loaded, unregistered Glock handgun with an extended 30-round magazine as well as an extra magazine, more than $600 in cash, a digital scale and "a large jar containing a green leafy substance, which appeared to be marijuana," police wrote in charging papers.
Police also found Ogbe's wallet with his ID card in the car, which DMV records also linked to him.
According to police, Ogbe had been captured on high-quality video getting out of the car and leaving the area. He also returned to the block later to speak with the homeowner, police wrote.
BPD said Ogbe, 27, is from Berkeley but is listed as unhoused.
On Friday, the Alameda County DA's office charged him with possession of a firearm by a felon and misdemeanor hit-and-run.
According to court records, he had been charged with selling marijuana in Alameda County in 2017, but the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
In 2019, he was charged with four felonies in Alameda County, including selling marijuana while he was out of custody in a separate criminal case, but the charges were dropped in a negotiated plea deal, according to court records.
In 2021, Ogbe was placed on probation after a felony conviction in Alameda County for possession of a controlled substance.
After his recent arrest in the Berkeley case, Ogbe "denied any involvement with the vehicle and invoked his right to an attorney" during a Mirandized interview, according to court papers.
His bail was originally set at $160,000, according to booking records, but he was released Friday on his own recognizance and ordered to appear in court to enter a plea Jan. 17.
Other recent Berkeley gun cases
On Jan. 1, Berkeley police investigated a non-injury shooting inside a West Berkeley apartment building that they later determined had taken place on New Year's Eve.
Officers seized two firearms during that investigation, BPD has said.
On Monday, Berkeley resident Amanda Ingram was charged with the discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, according to court records.
She has no prior criminal cases listed in Alameda County.
As of this week, Ingram remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday.
Emilie Raguso
Berkeley police also received a report in late December about a burglary in the 1200 block of Second Street in northwest Berkeley in which someone stole several firearms, rifle parts and thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to emergency dispatches reviewed by The Scanner.
In mid-December, the Northern District of the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a Berkeley man had been sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.
In that case, authorities said Rufus Rogers, 45, had gotten into an argument with someone outside an Oakland liquor store on San Pablo Avenue on Feb. 17, 2023.
"After the other person fired one shot into the air, Rogers raised his gun towards the person and fired three rounds," the DOJ announced. "Rogers also admitted to having multiple firearms in his possession on or about Aug. 2, 2023."
Berkeley gun seizures have risen in recent years
According to department data, Berkeley police have seized more than 800 firearms since 2016: about 200 unserialized "ghost" guns and 641 other firearms.
The annual average from 2017-2020 was about 80 guns seized each year, or fewer than seven guns a month.
Since then, the annual average has climbed to more than 100 firearms seized each year, or closer to nine guns a month.
According to The Scanner's tally, Berkeley police have seized at least six guns since Dec. 28. (TBS has asked BPD for the official number.)
Gunfire reports also increased toward the end of 2024, with seven non-injury shootings in Berkeley in the second half of December alone.
There were 31 shootings in Berkeley throughout all of 2024, leaving three people dead and seven wounded.
Aside from gun violence, most serious crime reports fell in Berkeley in 2024, according to preliminary data.
