Photo: Nathan Hohmann
BERKELEY — A man was arrested after a standoff with police, for allegedly assaulting his landlord with a sickle. A second person who was visiting at the time was also injured during this violent attack.
Twice on May 19th, police responded to reports of trouble at the same residence on the edge of downtown. First, officers investigated a report that someone attempted to set fire outside the house.
The man suspected in the fire incident refused to answer the door when officers showed up the first time. However, the same man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting two victims later that day.
Police returned to the 2300 block of Parker Street a second time shortly before 6 p.m. Officers surrounded the home for what turned into a standoff lasting nearly eight hours.
Efforts by officers to communicate with the suspect went unheeded. The man holed up inside is suspected of menacing two persons with a sickle, before they escaped. He was wanted for felony assault.
A special response team was organized, and authorities obtained a search warrant. San Leandro police sent a K-9 unit to assist and Berkeley police deployed a robot.
The standoff culminated with the arrest of Nathan R. Hohmann, 40 of Berkeley, on May 20 at 1:54 a.m. Eventually, officers broke down the door to apprehend him.
Hohmann remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail in lieu of $80,000 bond. His charges are battery causing serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon.
