From Shanghai to Small Claims Court: Pan-Pacific Tussle Ends Well for Tenant

By Rhyen Coombs

Chang-Qin Wu didn’t miss his second court date. He’d traveled all the way from Shanghai to guarantee it. By 9:30 a.m. Oct. 19, he was seated in the Berkeley Courthouse opposite his accuser and former landlady to find out whether the trans-Pacific flight would be worth it. He hastily tugged his blazer over his shoulders and sat up straight as Alameda County Superior Court Judge Marshall Whitley entered the small claims court.

Across the aisle, 78-year-old Esther Yang of El Sobrante shuffled to her seat, propped her feet on her metal walker’s support bars and with a trembling thumb sifted through the photographs and faded receipts she’d brought along as proof of her claim. Wu, she said, had never paid her the $1,000 rent for November 2006 and left apartment No. 3 in her building at 1117 Brighton Street in Albany filled with trash and an overflowing sink. It cost her $6,325 to clean it up.

Police Issue Warning About Scam on Elderly

By Andrea V. Brambila
Berkeley property crimes detectives are warning residents to watch out for scam artists who pose as water repairmen to get into and rob the homes of senior citizens.

Since October 2006, five incidents have been reported in the northeast Berkeley hills. The last one was Oct. 17. Dozens of other incidents have been reported throughout the Bay Area, including the Peninsula, the South Bay, and San Francisco. 

Help Us Track Two Killers, Say Berkeley Police

By Rhyen Coombs 

A $15,000 reward was laid on the table Thursday for anyone who brings Berkeley police information that brings Dwayne Murphy’s killer to justice.

The death of Murphy, 27, by multiple gunshots off a south Berkeley sidewalk at 63rd and King streets was the second of two homicides in the city on Sept. 22, and the fourth of five in 2007.

Of those five cases, detectives have closed three, including the death of Isaac Castro in west Berkeley earlier that morning. On Sept. 26, Bay Area day laborer Jose Cristian Vera Flores was identified as a suspect in that homicide. While police have not said whether Flores remains at large, they do not believe the two Sept. 22 incidents were related.

The offer joins another $15,000 call for community help in locating the killer of Terrence Marlow Broadnax, 47, who was discovered dead from blunt force trauma injuries inside his 1040 University Ave. apartment June 8.

Police urge those with details on either of these cases to call the BPD Homicide Detail at (510) 981-5741 (office) or (510) 981-5900 (non-emergency 24-hour dispatch line).

Berkeley Fire Department Sends Aid to Fight Southern California Fires

By Andrea V. BrambilaThe Berkeley Fire Department sent two engine companies and eight staff members to Southern California Tuesday, in response to requests for aid amid raging wildfires in seven of the area’s counties.Thirteen fires threaten homes and businesses. Officials don’t expect many to be contained until Oct. 31. Firefighting efforts have been challenging because of drought conditions and Santa Ana winds reaching up to 106 mph.

Berkeley Police Arrest Man With a History of Burglary

By Andrea V. BrambilaA man carrying a crowbar, a multi-tool with pliers, a flashlight, and a black glove in a residential neighborhood was arrested for possession of burglary tools early Tuesday morning.At 3:17 a.m., a robbery was reported in the area of San Pablo Avenue and University Avenue. Police stopped Vanderrick Vickers, 26, who matched the description of the suspect and whom an officer recognized from a previous case.A records search revealed Vickers was on felony five-year probation for burglary and possession of stolen property. He had also been arrested several times for the same crimes and for possession of burglary tools.