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BERKELEY — A 36-year-old woman was in county jail after her arrest this week on suspicion of kidnapping in connection with four separate incidents within recent weeks, authorities said.
In a statement late last month, Berkeley police said that a 13-year-old girl was walking near Allston Way and McKinley Avenue around 6 p.m. August 29 when a white car pulled up alongside her, with a person inside trying to get her to come in. The girl said no, managing to walk away and telling her parents.
In that incident, a suspect was described as a light-complexioned African-American woman about 30 to 40 years old, 5-foot-4 with a chubby build and black hair in a bun, driving a newer-model white Honda or Toyota sedan.
Police also said that a 12-year-old boy was riding his scooter on a sidewalk on Sacramento Street near Addison Street around 5:30 p.m. September 20 when a female he did not know got out of a car and tried to get him to get in. After she approached him, he ran and hid in a nearby driveway. After seeing her waiting when he emerged minutes later, he managed to run away.
After police shared word of those incidents, two other youths came forward to report similar incidents.
In one, a 14-year-old boy working in his front yard in the 2200 block of Jefferson Avenue said a similar person had approached him around 5:30 p.m. August 29 and tried to shake his hand twice. In another, a 15-year-old boy near Allston Way and Grant Street said that someone had approached him around 6:10 p.m. September 14 and tried to get him to come toward her vehicle.
After Berkeley police detectives spoke with a witness who shared information, they identified a suspect and obtained an arrest warrant. Around 10:45 a.m. Monday, officers found the woman driving near the North Berkeley BART station.
She was arrested on suspicion of attempted kidnapping and three counts of annoying or molesting a child. She was in custody at Santa Rita Jail and facing arraignment Friday morning at Oakland’s Wiley Manuel courthouse, according to a county records check Thursday night.
Anyone with information may call Berkeley police’s robbery unit at 510-981-5742 and reference case No. 2022-00044070.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
Originally published at George Kelly