Berkeley Store Robbed, Suspect Captured
After Wild Car Chase to Hayward

BERKELEY -- Three armed robbers stormed through Cambridge Soundworks in downtown Berkeley early Sunday afternoon, binding staffers by their wrists, loading stereo equipment into a U-Haul truck and leaving behind a dead dog before leading police on a low speed chase down I-80, Inspector Arnold Lui with of the Berkeley Police Department reported.

Ricky Sanders, 25, was arrested after the chase in Hayward. The two remaining suspects are still at large, police saaid. Employees at Cambridge Soundworks, at 2350 Shattuck Avenue, were otherwise unhurt, Lui said.

Police said the armed men entered the store early Sunday afternoon, blindfolded and bound two employees at the wrists, removed an undisclosed amount of cash and loaded stereo equipment into a U-Haul truck, Lui said.

However, after loading the equipment, one suspect attempted to steal an employee’s car, police said. The owner’s dog was inside the vehicle at the time and later found dead. It is unclear whether the suspect killed the dog or if the animal tangled itself in its leash and died, Lui said.

Berkeley Police caught up with the U-Haul near 6th and University. The truck headed south on I-80 when Oakland Police and California Highway Patrol officers joined the chase. Sanders initially refused to pull over and traveled within the lawful speed limit before stopping in Hayward. Police found stereo equipment in the truck, but couldn’t tell how much represented stolen items since Cambridge Soundworks needed to inventory the store after the robbery.

The two other suspects were not in the U-Haul truck, Lui said. He speculated they either fled in another vehicle or were dropped off.