crime
Emilie Raguso
The workers were inspecting the sewage pipes with a camera when the armed robbery took place, they told police.
Berkeley police speak with a work crew following an armed robbery on McGee Avenue on Tuesday, October 29, 2024. Ariel Nava photo
Two men with a gun robbed a team of workers of equipment they were using to inspect sewer pipes in downtown Berkeley Tuesday morning, according to police and community reports.
The workers were in the 2300 block of McGee Avenue (near Bancroft Way) just before 11:40 a.m. when the men drove up in a black car and pointed a gun at them, authorities said.
The workers used a camera and monitor to inspect sewage pipes during the armed robbery, they told police.
The robbers appeared to be about 25 years old, of Hispanic descent and 5 feet 7 inches tall, according to emergency reports reviewed by The Scanner.
According to preliminary information, they were wearing dark gray hoodies with masks and yellow high-visibility vests.
“They described one as fat and one as thin,” Berkeley police reported over the radio.
The workers were not injured in the robbery.
Responding officers searched for the escaped suspicious vehicle and spoke to witnesses at the scene.
“This investigation is in its early stages and ongoing,” Berkeley police said Tuesday.
Berkeley Police Annual Report: Violent Crime Increased 15% in 2023
Crime rates are “returning to or exceeding pre-pandemic levels,” with increases in nearly all major violent and property crimes, BPD said.
So far this year, there have been about 170 robberies in Berkeley, a significant decrease from last year's peak and also historical averages – when Berkeley saw about one robbery per day.
According to the BPD, there were at least five other robberies in Berkeley in the past week, including two carjackings.
About 20% of robberies in Berkeley tended to involve a gun.
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