Man Convicted Of Sexual Assault of Berkeley Teen

OAKLAND, CA — A five-time felon was convicted on Monday of multiple felony counts for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Berkeley last year.

But jurors, who deliberated for three days, deadlocked on charges alleging that Alphonzo McInnis, 28, of Berkeley, who has a prior conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse, also attacked an 18-year-old University of California at Berkeley freshman in a separate incident nine days after the
attack on the 15-year-old girl.

McInnis smiled as jurors left the courtroom even though their verdict means he will face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Alameda County prosecutor Nick Homer alleged in his closing argument last week that McInnis used a realistic-looking, all-black replica gun to instill fear in the incident with the 15-year-old girl in the 1500 block of Addison Street on April 19, 2018, and with the 18-year-old woman in
the 2400 block of College Avenue at about 4:30 a.m. on April 28, 2018.

Homer said that in the first incident McInnis, a former Berkeley High School student who has a girlfriend and three children, grabbed the 15-year-old as she walked to school, pressed what appeared to be a gun into her side and told her not to scream or look at him or he would shoot her.

Homer said McInnis told the girl, "Don't scream, don't look at me. I have a gun and will shoot you."

Homer said McInnis then led the girl to the backyard of a nearby residence, where he groped her and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

Homer said that in the second incident McInnis walked around near a dormitory on College Avenue and appeared to be looking for someone he could take by surprise.

The prosecutor said the 18-year-old freshman had been talking with a friend at a dorm across the street and at 4:30 a.m. decided to walk one block across the street to get back to her own dorm room.

Homer said McInnis grabbed the female student, put his arm around her head and pointed what appeared to be a gun at it, but she managed to escape and get safely into her dorm after a struggle at the door.

Homer said DNA evidence connects McInnis to both incidents.

The prosecutor said when police recovered McInnis' weapon at his residence it turned out to be a fake gun but said it looked real enough that it frightened both victims.

McInnis was convicted of forcible rape of a minor, forcible sexual penetration on a minor, oral copulation of a minor and kidnapping enhancements for his alleged attack on the 15-year-old girl.

But jurors deadlocked on kidnapping for rape and robbery charges for the alleged attack on the college student, prompting Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rogers to declare a mistrial on those charges.

McInnis is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 22, when prosecutors will decide whether they want to prosecute him again on those charges.

A sentencing date hasn't yet been set.

In her closing argument last week, McInnis' lawyer Sydney Levin asked jurors to find him not guilty because she thinks the prosecution didn't prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Levin also said the two alleged victims have changed their stories over time.

Prosecutors say McInnis was convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse in Contra Costa County in 2008, and his most recent conviction was in Alameda County on Jan. 28, 2015, for second-degree robbery of six gas stations on University Avenue in Berkeley.

In addition, prosecutors say McInnis has three other prior convictions in Contra Costa County: second-degree burglary in 2011, possession of a firearm by a felon in 2013 and grand theft of a firearm in 2012.

— Bay City News

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