Suspect In Brutal Berkeley Home Invasion, Attempted Rape Identified As Santa Rita Jail Inmate
BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- A Sacramento County man in jail on robbery and burglary charges was also charged in the attempted rape and brutal assault at gunpoint of a Berkeley woman alone in her apartment during a home invasion in September, police said Tuesday.
The suspect, a 43-year-old Antelope man, was being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. His identity was not immediately disclosed.
On September 27, 2020, the suspect broke into the woman's apartment and stole multiple cell phones, computers, electronics and personal items, according to Berkeley police. The woman was asleep in her bed when the suspect woke her up and pointed a gun at her face, pulling back the covers and making a motion as if he was going to jump into bed with her, police said.
When the woman tried to leave, the suspect struck her repeatedly in the head with an object before she could escape, causing multiple injuries that required five stitches to her face and eight staples to the top of her head, police said. The man fled, but officers were able to collect evidence at the scene that would eventually help determine his identity.
On January 8, a person was robbed at gunpoint in Berkeley, and before the suspect fled in a vehicle, the victim was able to note the license plate of the vehicle. Five days later, police in San Pablo were able to find the vehicle and arrest the suspect for possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle and other various crimes. He was booked into the Santa Rita Jail for the robbery and burglary cases.
Following that arrest, Berkeley police detectives obtained a warrant to search the suspect's vehicle, where they found stolen property from various locations in Berkeley, including mail from the apartment building where the woman was assaulted. Robbery detectives were able to link the suspect to multiple robberies and burglaries in the South Campus area.
When the suspect's DNA was collected and analyzed, it matched evidence recovered in the Berkeley home invasion. On June 15, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged the suspect with attempted rape, assault, burglary, and enhancements for use of a firearm and great bodily injury.
Berkeley police said the case was solved with the help of the FBI, Contra Costa and Monterey County District Attorney's Offices, Alameda County Sheriff's Office, San Pablo PD, and Richmond-based Serological Research Institute.