Police Seeking Man Who Attacked Woman on BART Path

Published by Patch on Sept. 14, 5:35 p.m.; updated Sept. 15, 11:44 a.m.

By Laura Dixon, Bay City News Service

Police are attempting to locate a man who beat and attempted to  abduct a woman near the El Cerrito del Norte BART station earlier this week.

Around 6:55 p.m. last Monday, a woman was texting on her cellphone  while walking on the Ohlone Greenway between Wall and Conlon avenues in El  Cerrito when a man walking the opposite direction on the path attacked her,  according to police.

Police said the man punched the victim in the head several times, grabbed her from behind and pinned her arms down.

The suspect covered the woman's mouth and began dragging her toward some bushes off of the pathway and the woman yelled for help, police said.

A nearby resident heard the cry, looked outside her window and saw the suspect dragging the victim into the bushes, according to police.

The resident yelled at the suspect, prompting him to flee the scene, and called police.

The victim suffered minor injuries in the attack.

Officers were unable to locate the suspect, who is described as a Hispanic man in his early to mid 20s who is roughly 5 feet 5 inches tall with a medium complexion and stubby facial hair, according to police.

Police have released an artist's rendering of the suspect and are asking anyone with information about this crime to contact Detective Li at (510) 215-4400.

Police are reminding residents to be aware of their surroundings while walking around town and to minimize distractions such as talking or texting on a cellphone, wearing headphones or reading from a book or electronic device. 

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