By Jim Emerson
BERKELEY — Twelve charges have been filed against a man for allegedly raping a woman
who accepted a ride from him on December 15. The suspect identified as Paula M. Funaki,
24, of Hayward, is being held at Alameda County Santa Rita Jail in lieu of $315,000 bond.
The victim accepted a ride from a stranger at Civic Center Park, across the Berkeley police
station. Instead of taking the victim where she wanted, the suspect drove to a secluded area
on Wildcat Canyon Road.
Funaki allegedly stopped his car and proceeded to sexually assault the victim, and he fled
from the area afterwards. Meanwhile, the woman walked to a nearby residence on
Woodhaven Road, where she asked for help.
Responding officers stopped the suspect’s car near the intersection of Spruce Street and
Glen Avenue. The victim positively identified Funaki as her attacker. Officers arrested him at
10:06 p.m.
Investigators collected DNA evidence, along with video evidence from the city’s recently
installed automated license plate readers. The suspect’s car was recorded near the scene of
the crime, shortly before the victim was raped.
Multiple charges were filed against Funaki for aggravated circumstances involving violent
conduct and a vulnerable victim. His charges include the following –
* Planning and sophistication of a crime
* Kidnapping to commit a sex crime
* Forcible oral copulation
* Forcible rape
Moreover, the suspect was driving with a suspended license resulting from prior DUI
convictions. Funaki has two prior arrests this year for driving with a suspended license in
Hayward.
