Quick-Witted Starbucks Customers Help Police Nab Suspected Armed Laptop Thieves
BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- Some fast-thinking patrons at a Starbucks coffee shop helped police apprehend two suspects after one entered the business and forcibly took a woman's laptop, Saturday afternoon.
At about 4:20 p.m., officers responded to a report of a robbery at a Starbucks at 3001 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, police said.
Callers told police they witnessed a man struggling with a patron after he tried to take her laptop from her.
When he tried to flee from the coffee shop with the laptop in hand, another patron blocked the door. The suspect then pulled out a firearm and the patron moved out of his way, according to police.
Despite being threatened with a gun, the patron followed the suspect outside and watched him as he fled east on Ashby Avenue and then got into an awaiting vehicle, police said.
After receiving a description of the suspect and the vehicle, officers located the car and stopped it near Ashby and Domingo avenues, according to police.
Once the robber was identified, officers searched the vehicle and found the stolen laptop inside, as well as a pellet gun.
Officers identified the two people inside the vehicle as Oakland residents Delamontae Stewart, 22, and Zachery Haliburton, 19. The two were arrested on suspicion of robbery and possession of stolen property, police said.
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