Stalker reports alarm neighbors of homeless camp at city park
Reports about Steven Hall have drawn the attention of Berkeley leaders — particularly against the backdrop of growing concerns at Ohlone Park.
A man linked to a spate of crime reports in and around Ohlone Park is back in jail this week after police say he violated a court order keeping him out of the area.
Steven Hall, who had set up camp in Ohlone Park, has been arrested repeatedly in Berkeley in recent months — on suspicion of stalking and harassing women, sexual battery, soliciting lewd conduct and other crimes, according to public records.
Last week, after one of those arrests, a judge ordered Hall to stay 500 feet away from Ohlone Park in North Berkeley, officials and community members said.
When he violated that order over the weekend, police arrested Hall again, records show.
Read more about homeless camps in Berkeley.
Community reports about Hall have drawn the attention of city leaders and Berkeley police — particularly against the backdrop of growing public safety issues at Ohlone Park.
"I think it's very concerning that we have this individual who has been staying at the park and harassing people," said Councilwoman Rashi Kesarwani, who represents the neighborhood. "We are taking this very seriously — as a serious crime issue. And it speaks to the larger point: That the park is not the appropriate place for people to be living long term."
To that end, Kesarwani's office has organized a community meeting for May 22 to hear from residents and other stakeholders about what's been happening.
"For now, our priority is to keep this individual away from the park, which is supposed to be a public space everybody can visit and feel safe," she said. "The city is essentially failing to live up to that goal right now at Ohlone Park."
"Trust your gut and get out"
On Monday, The Scanner spoke with several community members to piece together some of the issues that have been raising neighborhood concerns around Ohlone Park in recent months.
Most asked to remain anonymous due to the nature of the allegations and the ongoing public safety threats in the area.
Some of the reports drew increased attention last week after a Berkeley woman posted on social media about her experiences with Hall.
In her video report, the woman described having been "followed, stalked and then sexually harassed" by Hall several weeks earlier. She said he also threatened her with sexual violence.
On the day of their first interaction, the woman took refuge near a construction crew until Hall left her alone, she said.
She said she was shaken up, but didn't think to call police.
The man later threatened her again when she went to the park with her partner and their dog, she said.
Since then, the woman said she had heard about other disturbing interactions linked to Hall, including one involving a woman who was pushing her baby in a stroller and one involving a woman who was physically attacked at 3 a.m. while letting her dog outside.
"Basically, I'm sharing this to say … be vigilant. If you feel like someone's following you, they probably are. I felt like he was following me and I second-guessed myself," she continued. "If you have a 'Spidey-sense' about someone, trust your gut and get out."
Who is Steven Hall?
According to online records, Steven Delfon Hall, 34, has been arrested repeatedly over the past decade or so, including in connection with an Oakland murder case from 2014.
A plea deal in the murder case resulted in a prison sentence for Hall, for carjacking via gun, that sent him to San Quentin until last year, according to court records.
Since then, according to Local Crime News, a repository for basic arrest reports, Hall has racked up seven arrests in Berkeley related to allegations of sexual battery, annoying a child and soliciting lewd conduct, resisting arrest and court order violations, stalking and exhibiting a deadly weapon.
According to available court records, no charges have been filed to date in connection with Hall's arrests this year, but that's not to say none will be.
Hall has been in and out of custody this year, according to community reports and police. When someone is out of custody, authorities have much more time to review cases and decide whether to file charges.
The Scanner has asked the DA's office for any additional information that might be shared in relation to this case.
Officials are keeping a close eye on Ohlone Park
In an interview Monday, Councilwoman Rashi Kesarwani said she had worked closely with the city manager's office and Berkeley police chief to figure out how best to handle the situation of someone returning to Ohlone Park after being arrested on suspicion of crimes in the area.
In response to their advice, she said her office had encouraged community members to call the DA's office in advance of a court hearing for Hall last week to ensure authorities had enough information to issue a stay-away order.
Since then, she has continued to track the situation closely.
Over the weekend, the city manager's office alerted Kesarwani to Hall's return to the park and subsequent arrest, she said.
According to booking records, Berkeley police arrested Hall on Saturday shortly after 5 p.m.
He is now being held on $5,000 bail and is set for arraignment in the new case Wednesday, according to online jail records.
He may have other court dates scheduled in relation to his other recent arrests, but that information does not become public until after charges are filed.
Emilie Raguso
"The conditions are not good for anyone"
On Monday, The Scanner also spoke with a woman who spotted Hall in the park Saturday and reported him to police.
She said she first became aware of Hall in March, when he followed her as she walked home to North Berkeley from taking her child to daycare.
At the time, neighbors had yet to begin comparing notes about what was going on.
That day, she too found a crew of workers and "glommed onto them" until Hall left and she felt safe to continue walking, she said.
The incident with Hall was just one among many problems that had been growing at Ohlone Park, she said.
In recent months, neighbors had discovered rat infestations in their homes along with discarded needles and tampons in the area, she said, in addition to increasing reports of public defecation and urination — despite portable toilets in the park.
She said her children, who used to be frequent Ohlone playground users, no longer feel comfortable there.
Most of the park has become "unusable," she said, describing it as a "public health emergency."
"The conditions are not good for anyone," she said. "It's completely changed the neighborhood. The level of stress living here is really pretty high."
Emilie Raguso
"It just felt very hopeless"
The woman also said that, while she and her neighbors strongly support housing and services for homeless individuals, the situation has become untenable.
Berkeley residents have also said they have been frustrated about how public conversations about homelessness often seem to devolve into a "class struggle."
That's what happened at a recent community meeting, where many neighbors expected to hear about the city budget and projects set for Ohlone Park.
That day, one longtime resident said, several dozen park neighbors were joined by eight or so homeless activists, and the meeting veered off course.
As city staff tried to describe plans to install new lighting, playground equipment and a permanent bathroom at Ohlone Park, the activists pushed back.
We don't want a bathroom, one man said, we want an injection site where we can be monitored by staff afterward, the longtime resident recalled.
Organizers managed to keep the meeting from turning into a screaming match, "but it was not a real community dialogue."
Meanwhile, a city meeting last week about a council proposal to come up with a list of sites for a sanctioned Berkeley homeless camp also drew significant attention — and tension.
At the meeting, the resident said, the city made it clear there is no money available to pay for a new sanctioned homeless camp, even if an appropriate site can be identified.
"It just felt very hopeless," the resident said. "There were people from all parts of Berkeley saying, we don't want an encampment here."
Kesarwani: Berkeley must be realistic about resources
On Monday, Councilwoman Kesarwani told TBS she had been seeing "a growing number of tents at Ohlone Park" for some time, but added that it was tough to know where they had come from.
At least some of the tents, she said, were part of a protest movement sparked by legislation from Kesarwani's office, approved by the Berkeley City Council last fall, to allow for the removal of some Berkeley encampments even when the city cannot offer shelter.
Earlier this month, the city shut down a similar protest camp at Civic Center Park after community members raised concerns about it, including after the groping of a BHS student on her way to school.
The city said staff had worked closely with Civic Center Park campers to find shelter options for them if they agreed to move.
But that effort, along with encampment outreach and resolution work at Sixth and Harrison streets and on Second Street, had largely exhausted the city's resources.
Emilie Raguso
It remains to be seen exactly how the city will approach the tents at Ohlone Park now — particularly if activities there are making it unsafe.
The popular park, with its children's playgrounds, off-leash dog area and community garden, stretches from Sacramento Street up to Martin Luther King Jr. Way along Hearst Avenue.
This week, Kesarwani pointed out that many people in the neighborhood, including downtown Berkeley apartment dwellers and others without yards, rely on Ohlone Park for greenery and nature.
She described the city's situation as "a very difficult position."
"I would love for everybody to always be offered shelter or a … motel room — but we also have to be realistic about what a city of our size and fiscal resources can do," she said. "We just can't have people camping in a park that's supposed to be a public space for everyone."
