Arrests

Berkeley's new Flock camera system nets another gun arrest

Sean Hammonds has a long list of convictions for drug sales and gun possession. The DA's office charged him with a new case Thursday.

Berkeley police found a loaded handgun with an extended magazine during a car stop this week. BPD

Berkeley police arrested a Hollister man in a stolen car Wednesday thanks to an alert from the city's new Flock camera license plate reader system, authorities report.

A Berkeley police sergeant spotted the stolen car near Sixth Street and University Avenue in West Berkeley shortly after the alert came in around 2 p.m.

The man behind the wheel, who was identified as 42-year-old Sean Hammonds, followed police orders when BPD pulled him over.

When officers searched the stolen car, a black Kia Optima, they found a loaded handgun with an extended magazine, BPD said.

Sean Hammonds. BPD

On Thursday, the Alameda County DA's office charged Hammonds with being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm in public, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, possession of a large-capacity magazine, vehicle theft and receiving stolen property (the stolen car), along with a number of related clauses and allegations.

According to court records, Hammonds was convicted of crimes related to drug dealing in 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2011 and was also convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon in 2008 and 2022.

Hammonds also has two pending misdemeanor DUI cases in Alameda County stemming from getting pulled over in April and July of last year, according to court records. One of the cases includes an allegation that he had an excessive blood alcohol level at the time.

He was also convicted of misdemeanor DUI causing injury in 2022, records show.

Hammonds is now being held at Santa Rita Jail on $240,000 bail and is scheduled for arraignment Friday.

Berkeley Police Chief Jen Louis spoke briefly about the case Wednesday night to the Police Accountability Board.

Louis told the board that the city's Flock camera pilot program had been up and running for about a month and that the department is now working to determine how it would evaluate the program's success and ensure related data is available to the public via BPD's Transparency Hub data portal.

The chief also credited the new Flock camera system with reducing the potential for officer bias by sending alerts about wanted vehicles to help police make information-driven stops.