BERKELEY (KRON) — Carrying your laptop with you in the City of Berkeley comes with a risk these days.
There have been a couple of laptop robberies at Sack’s Coffee Shop on College Avenue.
On Monday night, Berkeley Police say four young African American men wearing ski masks, stormed into the off-campus coffee shop and stole two UC Berkeley students’ laptops. Officer Byron White says another patron’s phone was also taken.
“In that encounter, a young woman was injured after she tried to get her laptop back from one of the suspects, and the other suspects ended up knocking her to the ground and kicking her,” Berkeley Police Officer White said.
Berkeley police say this type of crime is trending in the wrong direction. Officers are investigating more and more of them and they’re happening all over the city. “We’ve had 35 different laptop robberies or thefts over this past year,” White said.
The woman eventually got her laptop back.
The suspect’s dropped it when they were getting away. Officer White says most victims of these crimes are sitting near the front entrance of establishments.
He says if you plan on using your laptop at a coffee shop or restaurant, stay in the back.
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