OAKLAND — The police report reads like a script from a heist movie.
At 2:22 a.m., a mysterious figure opened a sealed skylight on the roof of the North Face outlet on Fifth Street in Berkeley, creeping down a support beam before strapping on rappelling gear and lowering herself safely to the floor. She methodically gathered $20,000 in clothing and other merchandise, then pried a door open and escaped.
Two months before this Jan. 11, 2024 burglary, police say the same woman pulled off a heist at the Target in Emeryville with a somewhat more blunted approach. After gathering what she wanted to steal, she started a fire in the store, then ran out of the emergency exit with the items.
It took more than a year, but prosecutors say they know who’s responsible for both incidents. Last month, they filed arson charges against 29-year-old Brezjana Wilson, a Sacramento resident with a prior conviction for grand theft.
Wilson has been released from jail on her own recognizance in both cases, a standing order that will continue if she obeys the law and shows up to court. The two criminal complaints were filed on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31, records show.
According to police, Wilson made one mistake at the Berkeley burglary: she left a screwdriver behind, and investigators were able to match DNA found on the tool to her. In the arson case, she was recognized by a loss prevention investigator named Michael Mortimer, who said the Emeryville incident was similar to a theft/arson in Lathrop, according to court records.
Wilson was arrested last week, and reportedly admitted to starting the fire in the Target, as well as to participating in the Berkeley burglary. According to police records, she claimed that she was the lookout for two men who entered the store, and that she warned them that Berkeley police were on the case.
Prosecutors have accused Wilson of not merely acting as a lookout, but say she “extensively prowled the store” after rappelling into it from the ceiling. They do agree that two other unidentified cohorts were present and aided in the burglary, according to a probable cause statement filed in court.
Wilson’s next court date has been set for Feb. 28, where she is expected to enter a plea, records show.