Sheriff plane, Flock cameras help police nab armed robbers
A man with a gun robbed a delivery driver of his necklace and cellphone, then fled in a getaway car with a woman behind the wheel.
Berkeley police made quick work of an armed robbery case Friday with a little help from Flock cameras and a plane from the sheriff's office, authorities report.
Officers responded at about 3:30 p.m. to a report from a delivery driver who said he'd just been robbed, BPD said.
The driver had been on Delaware Street west of Shattuck Avenue when a male passenger with a gun got out of a gray Kia and took the deliveryman's cellphone and necklace, according to police and radio traffic reviewed by The Scanner.
After the robbery, the armed man hopped back into the passenger seat and the getaway driver, a woman, fled the scene, authorities said.
Berkeley police immediately began searching for the car, which Flock cameras — which are equipped with license plate readers — picked up heading west on University Avenue and south through Emeryville.
BPD quickly issued an alert to other law enforcement agencies to watch for the Kia, police said Sunday night.
It wasn't long before a fixed-wing aircraft operated by the Alameda County sheriff's office picked up the car and followed it through Oakland.
Less than two hours after the original report, Oakland police were able to detain both people who had been inside the Kia near Broadway and 30th Street next to Sprouts Farmers Market, according to emergency dispatches.
Read more about crime in Berkeley.
The Kia occupants were identified as James Willoughby and Nyrae Burleson, both 22-year-old Oakland residents, according to booking records.
Berkeley police responded to Broadway to arrest the pair and continue the investigation.
During the arrest, police found a loaded firearm, BPD said.
Willoughby and Burleson were arrested on suspicion of robbery and multiple gun-related crimes, according to booking records.
Willoughby is being held on $370,000 bail, and Burleson on $180,000 bail, as of Sunday night.
They are scheduled for arraignment this week.
Emilie Raguso
There have been at least 26 other robberies in Berkeley this year compared to 32 over the same period last year.
That's a 19% drop.
But Berkeley robbery reports appear to be trending up: There have already been at least 17 robberies in February as of Feb. 19 compared to 10 in all of January, according to preliminary BPD data.
Historically, Berkeley averaged about one robbery a day, although those numbers fell during the pandemic.
