The Berkeley Scanner

The Berkeley Scanner Authoritative news about public safety and politics in Berkeley, California. Founder: Emilie Raguso, 2017 SPJ NorCal journalist of the year.

Peter Taraba's former housemate told The Scanner he was "kind of a hothead" when they lived together north of campus in ...
06/18/2026

Peter Taraba's former housemate told The Scanner he was "kind of a hothead" when they lived together north of campus in 2024. This week, Taraba was charged with arson. Here's what we know about him.

Peter Taraba's former housemate told The Scanner he was "kind of a hothead" when they lived together north of campus in 2024.

Work is underway to repair the Berkeley Animal Shelter after a recent arson fire, officials say, with reopening anticipa...
06/17/2026

Work is underway to repair the Berkeley Animal Shelter after a recent arson fire, officials say, with reopening anticipated in early July. Here's the latest on the shelter fire — with a focus on who stepped up to help (and how you can, too).

Officials deemed the building unfit for public use due to the "toxicity of ambient smoke and burned debris" inside.

The suspect in a s*x crime case involving a child attending camp at UC Berkeley over the weekend has now been charged, c...
06/16/2026

The suspect in a s*x crime case involving a child attending camp at UC Berkeley over the weekend has now been charged, court papers show.

On Tuesday, the DA's office charged Quaylin Wesley, a 27-year-old Oakland man, with eight felonies.

BREAKING: A shooting in South Berkeley sent a young woman to the hospital Sunday night. The woman, estimated to be 19 ye...
06/15/2026

BREAKING: A shooting in South Berkeley sent a young woman to the hospital Sunday night. The woman, estimated to be 19 years old, was shot in the face, according to early reports.

The woman, estimated to be 19 years old, was shot in the face, according to early reports.

EXCLUSIVE: A homeless man who used anti-Black slurs and threatened children at a Berkeley school playground Saturday has...
06/15/2026

EXCLUSIVE: A homeless man who used anti-Black slurs and threatened children at a Berkeley school playground Saturday has been arrested, police report. We broke this story thanks to a reader tip.

David Celio "repeatedly shouted … slurs and threatened the children" through the fence, officials said.

SCOOP: UC Berkeley police arrested a summer camp staffer Saturday on suspicion of sodomizing a child overnight in a Cal ...
06/14/2026

SCOOP: UC Berkeley police arrested a summer camp staffer Saturday on suspicion of sodomizing a child overnight in a Cal dorm, authorities report. The suspect is an Oakland PE teacher who graduated from Cal, according to his LinkedIn page.

UCPD identified the suspect as Quaylin Wesley, a 27-year-old Vallejo man.

EXCLUSIVE: The man police say started a fire at the Berkeley Animal Shelter last weekend, and later tried to flood it, h...
06/12/2026

EXCLUSIVE: The man police say started a fire at the Berkeley Animal Shelter last weekend, and later tried to flood it, had his dog taken during a recent arrest, The Scanner has learned.

After the fire, police say arson suspect Peter Taraba flooded the shelter and then flooded the toilet in his Berkeley jail cell.

BREAKING: A deceased person was found on the UC Berkeley campus near Oxford Street on Friday morning. Gardeners found th...
06/12/2026

BREAKING: A deceased person was found on the UC Berkeley campus near Oxford Street on Friday morning. Gardeners found the body while working on one of the main campus pathways. The Scanner is the first to report this news.

Gardeners found the body while working on campus Friday at the West Circle, in the bushes on one of the main campus pathways.

SCOOP: Berkeley police say they have arrested the man who set a fire at the Berkeley Animal Shelter over the weekend. BP...
06/11/2026

SCOOP: Berkeley police say they have arrested the man who set a fire at the Berkeley Animal Shelter over the weekend. BPD arrested Peter Taraba on Thursday on suspicion of more than 40 counts of animal cruelty, police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.

Peter Taraba was arrested Thursday morning in connection with more than 40 counts of animal cruelty, police said.

SCOOP: A man with leptospirosis died in Berkeley in May after living in a "severely rat-infested RV" not far from Harris...
06/11/2026

SCOOP: A man with leptospirosis died in Berkeley in May after living in a "severely rat-infested RV" not far from Harrison Street, the city has confirmed.

"These are the first human cases of Leptospirosis in Berkeley in more than a decade," the city said.

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