A Berkeley man was arrested over the weekend in connection with an armed robbery that occurred the previous week at the Valero gas station in El Cerrito, police said.
At about 11:11 a.m. on July 12, El Cerrito police responded to the gas station at 11687 San Pablo Ave. just north of Cutting Boulevard on a report of an armed robbery and learned the victim had a chain and watch stolen at gunpoint after letting the suspect borrow his cellphone, police said.
Detectives identified the suspect as Eric Dewayne Smith, 25, of Berkeley and obtained a warrant for his arrest, police said.
“Smith was arrested in Berkeley on July 17 in the vehicle used during the commission of the robbery,” police said. “During a follow up search warrant, a 40 caliber semi-automatic firearm with an extended magazine was recovered.”
Smith, who was on both parole and probation at the time of his arrest, has been charged with felonies by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
