Photo: Stock image
FREMONT — With assistance from an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, Fremont police apprehended a stolen vehicle suspect. Jabari L. Neal, 37, of Oakland, got arrested, but his passenger was released after being detained.
An automated license plate reader detected the stolen vehicle on March 28. It was traveling near Fremont and Washington boulevards. Detectives monitored surveillance cameras to track the location of the vehicle.
Patrol officers attempted to stop the vehicle, near the intersection of Fremont Boulevard and Beacon Avenue. The driver fled, but officers did not initiate a pursuit. A short while later, the stolen vehicle was abandoned nearby on a dead-end street.
In a prepared statement the Fremont Police Department said. “An alert community member notified a patrol officer that a suspicious man was inside a nearby business. He was watching officers and asking for a ride.”
Later the helicopter crew saw the driver hiding in a backyard, close to where the vehicle was left. Additional units, including a K-9 unit were dispatched. Patrol officers placed Neal under arrest soon afterward without further incident.
Neal was booked at Alameda County Santa Rita Jail for taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent. However, he is no longer listed as an inmate in custody at the county lockup.
The suspect has previous arrests and convictions. Since April 2014 Neal has been arrested 18 times for burglaries, vehicle thefts, battery, and other offenses. Neal has prior convictions for first-degree residential burglary, fighting, and domestic violence.
