Berkeley police arrest teens in stolen car after foot chase
Passers-by who saw the pair running through the neighborhood frantically alerted police about where they were heading.
Berkeley's new Flock cameras helped police arrest two teenagers in a stolen car who fled from officers Saturday and tried to evade capture, authorities report.
The incident began at about 3:25 p.m. when police got a Flock alert about a stolen car on Cedar Street east of San Pablo Avenue in northwest Berkeley.
Officers immediately began looking for the stolen car, a gray or silver Hyundai Elantra, which had been reported stolen from Berkeley.
Minutes later, a BPD patrol officer spotted the car a few blocks away in the 1100 block of Francisco Street, between Curtis Street and San Pablo Avenue.
When the officer tried to stop the driver, he failed to yield and fled northbound on San Pablo, according to emergency dispatches reviewed by The Scanner.
But he didn't make it far: The driver almost immediately struck a car on San Pablo then jumped out of the Hyundai along with his passenger and fled westbound on Virginia Street, police said.
Police broadcast the description of the two young men while passers-by who saw them running through the neighborhood frantically alerted police about where they were heading, according to radio dispatches.
"One of them would have possibly a head injury," an officer reported. "The windshield is shattered from the driver's side."
The driver's head apparently struck the windshield as he fled from police, authorities said. Ariel Nava Photo
Berkeley police worked to block traffic on San Pablo between Francisco and Virginia streets where the crash happened. (The person whose car was hit did not appear to have been injured.)
Other officers began searching for the fleeing suspects, who had run into the block and taken refuge in a resident's yard.
Patrol officers spotted the young men north of Cedar Street between Eighth and Ninth streets and were able to detain them after a brief chase.
Two BPD officers sustained minor injuries during the response, BPD said.
The driver was identified as 18-year-old Jackson Phillips-Dennis of Berkeley, according to booking records.
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The name of his passenger, another male teenager, was not available because he is a juvenile, police said.
Phillips-Dennis was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and possessing a stolen vehicle, which are both listed as felonies, along with three misdemeanors: evading police, hit-and-run causing property damage and obstruction, according to booking records.
As of Sunday, he remained in custody at Berkeley Jail with a bail of $50,000, according to records online. He has no criminal cases listed in Alameda County.
Phillips-Dennis is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday, according to records online.
