A Lafayette man faces multiple felony charges in Alameda County for allegedly attempting to force a woman into prostitution and hitting her with a hammer during a drive through Berkeley June 26.
Michael Green, 41, was taken into custody by Berkeley police after his black Mercedes was stopped near San Pablo and University avenues that day. According to a report filed by the Berkeleyside news site, the arresting officer found that Green’s license had been suspended or revoked, could smell marijuana in the car, and noticed a hammer next to the driver’s seat.
A woman in the car was bleeding from a head injury, the site reported, and she told officers Green had struck her with the hammer in an attempt to force her into prostitution “for his financial benefit.”
Berkeleyside reported that the arresting officer allegedly found marijuana in Green’s pocket, along with 29 Alprazolam pills and several Hydrocodone and Oxycontin pills that were allegedly found in the Mercedes.
The Alameda County district attorney’s office charged Green with six felonies: human trafficking for commercial sex, attempted soliciting for a prostitute, assault with a deadly weapon (a hammer), resisting the efforts of an officer, drug possession for sale and transportation of drugs for sale, according to Berkeleyside.
The web site said Green remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail with bail set at $315,000. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday, July 14.
Green was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance in San Francisco County in 1994; was sent to prison in 1995 and 1996 after separate convictions for felony sale of a controlled substance – again in San Francisco County – and again in San Francisco in 2009, when he was placed on probation. He was convicted of felony burglary in Contra Costa County in 2005, according to Berkeleyside.
Pretty sure Pete Seeger never said, “If I had a hammer, I’d force you into prostitution.”
Business must be good if he can afford to live in Lafayette.