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Berkeley contractors attacked with metal pipe
A man is accused of vandalizing a Berkeley church and attacking contractors with a metal pipe, according to police.
BERKELEY, Calif. - A man has been arrested and charged with assault and vandalism after police say he attacked three men with a metal pipe when they found him sleeping inside a shuttered church near the University of California, Berkeley. Police said the man also trashed the church.
Incident caught on video
The backstory:
Cellphone video taken by one of the victims shows Donald Malone, 28, holding a 5-foot metal pipe and yelling at the three men, who are contractors working on the property.
"Hey! You're acting like you're innocent!" Malone says.
As one victim is heard speaking with police on the phone, Malone continues to yell.
"You already kicked me out! I was asleep!" he says, according to the video.
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At one point, Malone moves toward the victims.
"He's approaching us," one victim tells the dispatcher.
"Get away from me!" Malone yells, according to the video, which then stops.
Berkeley police said Malone then attacked the contractors with the pipe.
"So they asked the person to leave, and the person refused, after which they called the police, and that's when the suspect attacked them," said Officer Byron White, a Berkeley police spokesman.
Incident happened at shuttered church
What we know:
The attack happened about 10:45 a.m. Saturday at Trinity United Methodist Church near Bancroft Way and Dana Street. The church closed years ago, but the contractors discovered someone had broken into the building and caused about $20,000 in damage, according to police.
"Seemed to have broken a lot of the electric equipment, speakers knocked over, a drum set smashed," White said.
A UC Berkeley police officer who happened to be driving by was flagged down by the victims.
Malone was arrested after a struggle.
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Alameda County prosecutors have charged him with three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one felony count of vandalism. Court records show Malone has a prior assault conviction, and the district attorney's office filed a petition Tuesday to revoke his probation.
The incident happened across from the Recreational Sports Facility, UC Berkeley's main gym, during a busy move-in weekend for Cal students.
Cyrus Andaz, an incoming freshman, said the incident highlighted the distinction between homelessness and threatening behavior.
"I feel like there's a fine line between, you know, someone being homeless, sleeping on the street, and being in an unfortunate situation, versus them actually, you know, doing something and posing as a threat and while also swinging at people," Andaz said.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: KTVU reporting, Berkeley police, Alameda County court records