Photo: Hendon snatches the laptop
BERKELEY — A local resident faces charges for a snatch and grab robbery at a popular outdoor café. A video posted on YouTube details the crime. The suspect starring in this video will appear in court for his arraignment on July 5.
The victim sat on the patio outside at Café Strada, located at 2300 College Avenue near the UC Berkeley campus.
That video evidence and statements from eyewitnesses enabled Berkeley detectives to identify the suspected robber’s getaway car, and the suspect.
Here’s what happens in the video, recorded by security cameras at the café at approximately 10:30 a.m. on June 26.
First of all, the robber walks through a sidewalk entrance to an outdoor patio. He stretches his arms high above his head. Then he pauses momentarily at a doorway leading to the inside of the café.
The crook turns around and selects his victim. He chooses a man sitting outside on the patio working on a laptop computer. The victim is sitting at a small table with his back to the robber, and very close to the street for a fast getaway.
Kenneth A. Hendon, 20, is the suspected robber in the crime captured on video. He lives on the other side of town about two miles away from Café Strada.
Police officers on the lookout spotted Hendon walking near his home at 11:40 a.m. on June 30 and arrested him. He was on the 1700 block of Alcatraz Avenue.
Hendon was taken into custody at 12:01 p.m. on suspicion of robbery and receiving stolen property. BPD booked him at Santa Rita Jail, where he remains in lieu of $120,000 bond.
