Crime & Safety
Arrest for Assault with Deadly Weapon – a Painting
When Picasso said art is a weapon, he probably wasn't thinking about the method used by a suspect who allegedly hit a Berkeley street merchant in the head with one of the vendor's paintings. The attack followed an extortion attempt, police said.
The latest Berkeley police newsletter describes some recent crimes, including this unusual one:
"On August 13th at about 7:36 pm, a suspect approached one of the Shattuck Avenue street merchants selling items near the Downtown BART station and demanded that the merchant give him 5% of his earnings.
"When the merchant refused, the suspect picked up one the merchant’s paintings and hit him with it in the head.
"The suspect then fled the scene, but was later located and arrested for Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Extortion, and Participating in a Criminal Street gang."
This crime appears in the Sept. issue of the police department's "Neighborhood Update" newsletter. It is attached to this article.
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