Police arrested a man who grabbed a woman’s buttocks Tuesday morning on Telegraph Avenue before trying to flee the scene, authorities report.
According to Berkeley police, Matthew Blair walked up behind the woman, “touched her bottom” and smiled before running off.
He was arrested on suspicion of sexual battery by restraint, which is listed as a misdemeanor, according to booking records.
Matthew Blair. BPD
The sexual battery happened in the 2400 block of Telegraph Avenue south of Channing Way shortly before 11 a.m., Berkeley police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.
Authorities said the victim was a Berkeley woman in her 20s and described 41-year-old Blair as unhoused.
As of publication time, he remained in custody at Berkeley Jail with a bail of $15,000, according to booking records.
He is scheduled for arraignment Thursday.
No other information was immediately available.
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