Update: Suspect arrested in UC Berkeley sexual batteries linked to Palo Alto attack
BERKELEY -- UC Berkeley Police on Tuesday arrested a suspect in a series of sexual battery cases on and around campus and investigators linked him to a sexual assault in Palo Alto on Sunday.
The connection was made after Palo Alto Police released a sketch of a suspect in Sunday afternoon's assault of a woman in her 50s at the California Avenue pedestrian underpass in Palo Alto. The victim met with a sketch artist on Monday and Palo Alto police shared the information with other Bay Area law enforcement agencies.
The suspect was described as an Asian male between 30 and 40 years of age, about 5 feet 5 inches tall with a stocky build. He was cleanshaven and wearing a dark bike helmet, dark sunglasses, and a high-visibility yellow top.
At about 12:23 a.m. Tuesday UC Berkeley's Foothill Student Housing Complex, a woman reported she was walking near the west side of the complex off Cyclotron Road when she was assaulted. She told police she was grabbed from behind and knocked to the ground; she fought back by kicking the suspect and was then able to get away.
Later Tuesday morning, UC Berkeley Police released a photo of a suspect possibly connected to the campus attacks.
Also on Tuesday, UC Berkeley Police investigators contacted Palo Alto Police to say they believed they had a possible suspect in the Palo Alto attack under observation. At about 12:40 p.m., UCPD officers arrested the suspect on Memorial Glade on the UC Berkeley campus. Palo Alto Police investigators arrived in Berkeley and after an additional follow-up investigation arrested him for the Palo Alto sexual assault.
The suspect was identified as 34-year-old Daniel Widyanto Condronimpuno of Palm Beach, Florida. He was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for attempted rape by force, sexual penetration by force, assault with intent to commit rape, forcible sexual battery, false imprisonment, felony battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery.
Palo Alto Police said Condronimpuno's booking photo was not released because other law enforcement agencies were investigating the same suspect and releasing his photo could hamper those investigations.
Previously, UC Berkeley Police had said Tuesday's early morning campus assault case may be related to the two other sexual battery cases. The first was on Wednesday, April 5th, in Eucalyptus Grove around 1:30 p.m. The second was near Stephens Hall on Sunday, April 9th, around 9:40 a.m.
In both cases, the suspect grabbed a female student's private body parts over their clothing. Police released provided photos of a suspect or suspects in the case.
Anyone with any information about these incidents was asked to call UC Berkeley Police at (510) 642-6760. Palo Alto Police also urged those with information to call the department's 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.
