Man, 80, strangled by stranger during attack on College Avenue
Police say David Hobbs jumped into the victim's passenger seat and got on top of him, then began to strangle him, after the man opened his car door.
Police arrested an Oakland man Wednesday after he attacked an elderly stranger who had come to Berkeley for lunch to celebrate his 80th birthday, authorities report.
The incident happened in the popular, typically safe Claremont shopping district on College Avenue.
Shortly before noon, a woman flagged down Berkeley police to stop the attack, which was underway at College and Alcatraz avenues.
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As police got out to investigate, they saw a man in the passenger seat of a vehicle using both hands to violently strangle a much older man.
"Officers ordered the suspect to let go of the victim, but [he] did not follow verbal commands and physically resisted officers," BPD said.
Officers called for "Code 3 cover" — emergency backup — because the suspect was resisting, police said.
BPD officers were ultimately able to detain the suspect and arrest him without further incident.
He was identified as 40-year-old David Hobbs of Oakland.
The victim, a Sunnyvale man, sustained visible and physical injuries and was evaluated by the Berkeley Fire Department, police said.
Police officers also sustained minor injuries, BPD said.
David Hobbs. BPD
Police said the incident began with Hobbs walking down the street screaming.
When he got to the victim's car, he threw something inside and continued to yell indiscriminately, according to BPD.
When the 80-year-old man opened his door to get out, the stranger jumped into the passenger seat and got on top of him, then started to strangle him, police said.
The Alameda County DA's office charged Hobbs with assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and elder abuse, along with multiple enhancements, according to booking records.
Hobbs has had two other criminal cases in Alameda County, both misdemeanor charges related to alcohol, according to court records.
In 2011, the DA's office charged him with public intoxication and unlawful fighting or disturbing the peace, which was listed as an infraction. He entered a no-contest plea and was assessed a fine, according to court records.
In 2016, he was charged with DUI reckless driving with a blood alcohol of 0.08% or higher, according to court records. He entered a no-contest plea to alcohol-related reckless driving and was sentenced to two years of court probation (which is unsupervised).
As of Thursday, Hobbs remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with arraignment scheduled for Friday.
No bail amount was listed in booking records.
