BERKELEY — An ex-convict suspected in a six-week spree of home robberies and burglaries and other crimes in Berkeley and Castro Valley that mostly targeted women has been charged with 14 criminal counts, according to authorities and court records.
The suspect — Albert Decoto, 46, of Oakland, who was arrested Oct. 9 — has been charged with four counts of first degree residential burglary, three counts of first degree residential robbery, one count of carjacking, two counts of vehicle theft, one count of assault on a peace officer and one count of attempted carjacking, all felonies. He has also been charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting a peace officer and possession of a controlled substance.
He is being held without bail and is scheduled to enter a plea Oct. 21.
Authorities said he is under investigation as a suspect in similar crimes in other East Bay cities.
A woman who was arrested with him, at first alleged to have been an accomplice, has not been charged with any crimes and has been released from custody.
Details of the crimes Decoto has been charged with have been provided by court records and authorities.
They include:
— A residential burglary of a home on North Gold Ridge Drive in Castro Valley that happened about 3:45 p.m. Aug. 21. The residents were not home when a man broke into the home through a window and made off with a large amount of jewelry, some of which was later recovered in Oakland.
— A home invasion robbery about 9:40 p.m. Sept. 17 in the 2600 block of College Avenue in Berkeley. A woman was on her cell phone in her bedroom when a man entered the apartment through an open window and ordered her to hang up the phone before he “smacked the phone out of her hands and threatened her.” The man demanded to know where money and other valuables were; when he fled, he stole the woman’s car, which was later recovered in Oakland.
— A residential burglary between 4:40 p.m. and 7:18 p.m. Sept. 19 in the 2800 block of Stanton Street in Berkeley. Someone entered the home through a patio window after climbing over a fence. Documents, cash, electronics, clothing and bicycles were stolen.
— A residential burglary between 9:15 p.m. and 10:05 p.m. Sept. 20 in the 2500 block of Benvenue Avenue in Berkeley where a screen was pried off a window. Jewelry, clothes and keys were taken, as was a BMW which was later recovered in Oakland.
— A home invasion robbery about 5:40 p.m. Sept. 23 in the 1400 block of Arch Street in Berkeley. A man broke into the home and was surprised by the woman living there. She saw a backpack outside a window and jumped out of the window out of fear grabbing the a backpack and yelling at the man to leave. The suspect yelled at the woman to give it back or he would shoot her. She did not and he fled on a motorcycle.
— A residential burglary about 1 a.m. Oct. 1 in the 1500 block of Tyler Street in Berkeley. A woman was inside her bedroom when she heard someone in her living room. She saw a man shuffling through some papers and told him to leave which he did. She did not realize until later he had taken her keys and stolen her car, which was later recovered in another part of Berkeley.
— A home invasion robbery around 2:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in the 1600 block of Julia Street in Berkeley. A man climbed into the apartment through a window and was confronted by the woman living there. He told her not to say anything and demanded her cell phone so she could not call police. The suspect fled with thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, a purse, Apple AirPods and multiple wallets before fleeing on a mountain bike.
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According to authorities and court records, investigators were able to identify Decoto through video surveillance recovered in the area of the crimes and also later determined he had given some of the items taken during some of the crimes to people he knew.
A probable cause warrant was issued for his arrest. He was located by Berkeley police about 3:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in a vehicle in the 29000 block of Ruus Road in Hayward.
He refused demands to surrender and rammed multiple police vehicles, the records say, at one point driving directly at a Berkeley police officer who had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Decoto then ran from the vehicle and unsuccessfully tried to carjack a passerby before he was finally arrested after a brief struggle.
According to court records, Decoto has two prior felony convictions for residential robbery in Alameda County in July of 2005 that he went to prison for. He also went to prison for second degree robbery and resisting an executive officer in Alameda County in July 1998. He was placed on probation after a February 2022 Alameda County conviction for possession of an illegal substance in a jail facility.
