Crime & Safety

Jury Deliberating 2006 Robbery, Attempted Murder of Former Campolindo Student

Their prosecutor said two Berkeley men were looking for an easy target when they decided to rob a Moraga man looking to buy guns in support of his drug business. Hamed Mirabdal was nearly killed in the process.

-Bay City News Service contributed to this report

Jurors deliberated in Alameda County Superior Court on Thursday in the case of two Berkeley men accused of attempted murder after allegedly attempting to rob - and then kill - a Moraga resident who had gone to them to buy guns.

Hamed Mirabdal was 19, a former member of the Campolindo High School football team and a wannabe marijuana dealer looking to bolster a tough-guy reputation when he drove to Berkeley the evening of Oct. 25, 2006, to buy guns from Berkeley residents Nicolas Flatbush and Blake Mastro, both 23.

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The son of Iranian immigrants, Mirabdal had created a small cash business re-selling marijuana he purchased at medical marijuana dispensaries, and friends in Lamorinda went along with the tough guy personae he built for himself.

Investigators said Mirabdal had about $1,500 in his wallet when he met Flatbush and Mastro that evening. Flatbush has testified that Mastro told him to hold down Mirabdal, pinning his arms while Mastro took $4,800 in cash that they believed Mirabdal was carrying to buy the guns.

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Flatbush said he was "shocked" when Mastro began to stab Mirabdal as they sat parked in front of 777 Poppy Lane, a quiet street in an isolated neighborhood where Mastro once lived with his mother.

Mirabdal, who now attends Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, suffered more than 25 stab wounds to his neck and chest and was left for dead but survived.  He is paralyzed on his left side and has seizures.

Prosecutor Eric Swallwell alleged that Mastro never intended to sell guns to Mirabdal but wanted to trick him into bringing a large amount of cash so he could kill Mirabdal and take the money.

Mastro's lawyer, Joann Kingston, has said that Mastro wasn't at the scene of the crime and is innocent. Kingston told jurors that she believes that Mastro is the victim of a conspiracy by Flatbush and others to blame the crime on him.

Mirabdal, who has said he is trying to put the robbery attempt behind him, said memories of the attack came flooding back July 13, 2010, when a well-meaning Berkeley resident mailed his mother a packet containing his wallet and ID,  taken the night of the assault and discarded.

Inside was a scribbled note that said, "Hamed, found this while gardening on San Lorenzo Avenue in North Berkeley." The note was signed but illegible. The Berkeley woman who found the wallet was eventually contacted as the story came to light.


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