Photo: Ronald Hayes’ gun
FREMONT — The holiday shopping season is hectic—all right. A man was arrested for shoplifting and three separate weapons charges, including machine gun possession.
Certainly, shoppers were startled on December 10th. A small group of people walked into a store on Christy Street, one block away from Auto Mall Parkway. They began stealing merchandise and they threatened to kill store employees when confronted.
When they fled, the license plate number of the getaway car was captured by video surveillance cameras. Besides that, an eyewitness also provided police with the same license number.
Multiple police cars descended upon the area. Officers on the lookout, found out the car was registered in Hayward. Some responding officers headed over to Interstate 880 hoping to catch the suspects.
Sure enough, officers spotted the suspects’ vehicle traveling northbound on the freeway going toward Hayward. They followed as the suspects exited onto Fremont Boulevard.
After several police cars caught up, officers made a high-risk felony traffic stop. Everyone converged near a Lucky Supermarket and Motel 6 on Fremont Boulevard.
Four occupants of the vehicle were detained, and they had with them an infant on the backseat. Inside a diaper bag next to the baby, officers found a loaded handgun with a large capacity magazine. Upon further examination, officers realized the handgun had been converted to a fully automatic weapon.
Officers arrested the driver, 26-year-old Ronald Hayes, who was taken to Santa Rita Jail. Bond for his release was set at $155,000. His charges include carrying a loaded weapon, possession of a machine gun, and unlawful firearm activity. In addition, Hayes faces a shoplifting charge.
A woman passenger, DeJanae Eads, 26 of Hayward, was arrested for petty theft and child endangerment. Furthermore, a juvenile girl was issued a notice to appear to answer theft charges, but she was released to her guardian.
Finally, the innocent infant was taken into protective custody by Child Protective Services.
