Mar 5, 2008

City logs 3rd homicide of year

By Kristin Bender / MediaNews

Police are investigating the second homicide in two weeks in South Berkeley after a 25-year-old man was found lying near a curb outside an apartment building on Russell Street Monday night.

The killing of Ceron Burns, of San Leandro, brings the homicide rate for the year to three.

The homicide rate is on target to be higher this year than it has been in recent years. Last year, there were five homicides. The first one occurred in May. In 2006, there were four homicides.

Police found Burns lying next to a parked car in front of a multiunit apartment building at 1615 Russell St. He was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, although investigators declined to say where on his body he'd been shot.

He was transported to the trauma center at Highland Hospital in Oakland, where he was pronounced dead at 12:04 a.m. Tuesday.

Police do not have a motive in the case and have not made any arrests.

Although Monday's homicide and the one last week happened just a half-mile from each other, they don't appear to be linked, police said.

"There is nothing to confirm that the two are connected," said Berkeley police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.
Kusmiss said police were called to the scene Monday night after several 911 callers reported gunshots on Russell Street in South Berkeley.

Homicide detectives responded to the scene and investigated through the night and Tuesday morning, Kusmiss said.

Monday night's killing comes just over a week after the second homicide of the year.

Shortly before midnight on Feb. 24, officers found Brandon Terrell Jones, 29, of Berkeley, in the 1500 block of Harmon Street suffering from several gunshot wounds.

Jones was transported to Highland Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Jones' murder, police said. A reward in the latest homicide has not been announced.

The first homicide of the year was of Kent Washington Evans, 44, of Berkeley. Evans died on Jan. 3 while hospitalized for the Dec. 22 stabbing outside 3212 Adeline St.

The Alameda County Coroner is awaiting a final test in that case to complete the autopsy report before rendering a cause of death.

The Alameda County District Attorney will review the Evans case and determine if the office will file criminal charges against the man they have identified as the stabber.

Anyone who may have any information regarding any of these crimes should call Berkeley Police homicide detectives at 510-981-5741.