Berkeley robbery detectives make 3 arrests in 'major cases'
The same suspects were linked to "related cases" in nearby jurisdictions, BPD said Thursday.
A fingerprint match and "other key evidence" helped police close an investigation into a takeover robbery at Dream Fluff Donuts and a grand theft case from a nearby gas station last year, authorities report.
On Thursday, police shared an update in the case, including photographs and an arrest The Scanner had been asking about in recent weeks.
Berkeley police said the arrests helped nearby agencies close some of their cases as well, but did not provide additional detail.
The investigation dates back to November 2024 when five people, three of whom had guns, went into Dream Fluff Donuts and robbed the business at gunpoint, police said.
The group initially stole the tip jar from behind the counter, then confronted an employee at gunpoint and held him captive when he tried to flee, police said.
The group "forced him to open the cash register and stole all the money before fleeing in two separate vehicles," police said.
The same group then stopped down the street at Chevron gas station, at 2996 Telegraph Ave., and stole an employee's bag along with $1,500 in merchandise, authorities said.
Berkeley police detectives were able to identify the vehicles, using the Flock camera license plate reader system, and confirmed both had been stolen.
BPD was then able to seize those vehicles and process them, finding the fingerprint match and other evidence, which led them to two of the suspects: Jacob Hellman of Antioch and Christian Thompson of Modesto, both 20 years old.
Police first arrested Hellman, with help from BPD's Special Response Team and Antioch police, BPD said. He was charged in March, as TBS previously reported.
According to court records, police seized a Glock handgun, a pellet gun, ammunition and other evidence during Hellman's arrest.
Emilie Raguso
On March 25, police also arrested Thompson, with support from the CHP NoFEAR (Northern Foreign Export and Recovery) Task Force, in Antioch.
BPD also arrested a juvenile suspect in connection with the case.
"These successful arrests are a testament to the caliber of teamwork and the depth of investigative work put forth by our detectives," Berkeley police said Thursday in a prepared statement.
According to court records, both Hellman and Thompson are out of custody pending future court dates.
Hellman was charged with the Dream Fluff robbery and kidnapping, in relation to the store clerk, as well as the grand theft at Chevron and receiving stolen property identified as a Dodge Charger, according to court records.
He was released on $100,000 bail and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing April 28, according to booking records.
Thompson was released on $315,000 bail and is set for a summary judgment hearing in October.
He was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping in relation to Dream Fluff and grand theft at Chevron as well as another robbery Dec. 14.
According to court records, Thompson also had a carjacking and vehicle theft case from Oakland in 2023; a vehicle theft case involving gun possession in Alameda County in 2024; and a misdemeanor burglary case from Fremont in 2024.
