UC Berkeley Astronomer Spots Burglars

BERKELEY, CA - A University of California at Berkeley astronomer needs to update his resume to include crime fighting. Earlier this month he helped campus police arrest two burglars who stole items from the university’s Campbell Hall, police said.

Howard Isaacson told police at 11:36 p.m. on Feb. 18 he saw two suspicious men inside Campbell Hall.

Isaacson studies, among other things, exoplanets, as part of the NASA’s Kepler Space Mission. Exoplanets are planets that orbit around other stars than Earth’s sun.

Officers arrested 36-year-old Vincent Bradley and 27-year-old Jared Starkweather and allegedly found one of the two with burglary tools, according to police.

Officers also allegedly found stolen items from Campbell Hall and items reported stolen from the University of California at Irvine inside the suspects’ vehicle.

Isaacson’s university web page lists his personal interests as “reading about both science and science fiction, and promoting Astronomy to the public. I also enjoying playing soccer, cycling and traveling.” And crime fighter. Berkeley’s new super hero?

--Bay City News contributed to this report; Image via UC Berkeley