Crime Log: Home Break-Ins Galore; Amtrak Passenger Had More Than Ticket To Ride

The following is a summary of significant crime and incidents reported in Newark between March 30 and April 6 as released by the Newark Police Department.

SATURDAY, APRIL 6

• Forge checks at Trader Joe's. Next stop ... Raley's.. Two Hayward women, 46 and 40, were busted at 8:30 p.m. at Raley's by store security, who suspected them of burglary and entering with criminal intent. Two hours earlier, the duo was at Trader Joe’s in Fremont, where they reportedly forged checks, before heading to Raley's. One was booked for alleged burglary; the other for the Trader Joe's forgery and the fictitious checks in her possession.

• Child assault. Officers arrested a Newark individual, 36, for suspicion of assault on a child. The suspect and the victim were reportedly arguing and the suspect repeatedly struck the child in the face with an open hand. A concerned family member called 911 at 3:58 p.m., police arrived and the suspect was taken into custody.  

• DUI checkpoints. Read more.

FRIDAY, APRIL 5

• Another ransacked home. This one was logged 11:38 p.m. on Lake Boulevard. The burglary occurred between 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.; entry through rear sliding door, and jewelry taken.

• Cops offer safety tips here.

THURSDAY, APRIL 4

• Spotted mid break-in. A burglary was interrupted 9:32 a.m. on the 5300 block of Lake Boulevard when the homeowner saw culprits attempting to open a rear window. The suspects were described as two Hispanic juvenile males -- one in a black hat, black hoodie, dark jeans, and the other wearing a black or dark hooded-sweatshirt and dark jeans. Witnesses said the pair jumped a fence and ran to a waiting gray, older, four-door sedan driven by a third individual.

• Man critically injured by car in Union City. Details here. 

• Fremont man, 73, killed; daughter arrested. Story here.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3

• Three burglaries: a ransacked home at 9:50 p.m. on the 37100 block of Cedar Boulevard; an attempt on the 6600 block of Mirabeau Drive, where a suspect partially pried open a side window, setting off the home’s alarm; and an incident on the 5800 block of Moores Avenue. The suspect in the Moores report was described as a 6-foot, thin Hispanic man, 25 to 30, with slicked-back black hair, and wearing a yellow and black shirt, dark pants and blue “Air Force One” shoes. He rang the front doorbell prior before apparently going to the rear yard, removing a screen and entering through a bedroom window. Missing were four to five watches and two airsoft guns.

• Missing man found. Story here. 

TUESDAY, APRIL 2

• Are these your garden statues?

• Hit-and-run driver sought. Fremont police seek driver of a bronze Toyota SUV, with front-passenger-side damage and missing the passenger-side mirror. The vehicle -- akin to a 4Runner -- is suspected of hitting a bicyclist on Paseo Padre Parkway, near Sequoia Road. The vehicle was last seen eastbound on Peralta Boulevard from Paseo. The injured bicyclist was transported to a trauma center. Call (510) 790-6800, option 3, if you have info on this case.

• Stabbing at homeless encampment. Read more here.

• I am he as you are he as ... What are those clicking sounds? A 32-year-old homeless man from San Bernardino, holding something making "gun sounds," alarmed Union Pacific employees who called police at 9:07 p.m. to help get him off the Amtrak train. Police found the suspect with a realistic “airsoft” replica Smith and Wesson handgun in his backpack. After first claiming to be his brother -- who was wanted on a warrant -- the man gave his real name, which revealed a rap sheet for robbery and seven warrants. He was arrested on the warrant charges and for lying to the police.  

MONDAY, APRIL 1

• One bad turn deserves another. Two suspicious occupants of car parked at 3 a.m. at Kragen Auto Parts caught an officer's attention. But after being spotted the pair sped off towards Cedar Boulevard -- going southbound in the northbound lanes and nearly colliding head-on with a back-up patrol car. The suspects' vehicle eventually crashed into a tree on Lake Boulevard, east of Cedar. The auto's registered owner, a Ripon woman, 27, was found in the passenger seat and was arrested on an outstanding DUI warrant. The driver fled the scene.

• Uh-oh, sunroof. A Washington man, in town visiting his son, had his outdoor gear -- a hunting rifle with a 3x9 powered scope, fly-fishing tackle, backpack and a tool bag -- stolen at 1:30 p.m. from his vehicle parked at Hometown Buffet at Newpark Plaza. The victim left the sunroof open, and someone managed to get in and steal the goods.

SUNDAY, MARCH 31

• Violent Easter morn. A Newark man, 25, was arrested 9:40 a.m. for domestic assault after allegedly fighting, slapping and choking the mother of his child. He initially tried to sneak off and jump the back fence. An officer, stationed at the residence's rear, said no to that. 

• And license suspended, why? A Newark motorist, 46, reportedly hit a parked car before plowing into a lawn of a home on Spruce Street at 8:09 p.m. He was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence, driving a vehicle without an ignition-interlock device, and driving on a suspended license.

• Easter guns and gangs in Livermore -- second year in a row. Details here.

• Fremont Pizza Hut robbed at gunpoint. Story here.

SATURDAY, MARCH 30

• Burglar busted in the living room. Residents at a townhouse on Cedar Boulevard confronted a burglar in their living room at 2:48 a.m., and physically forced him out the front door into the arms of arriving officers. The man had forced open a sliding glass door and was in the process of stacking clothing on their front porch. The incident was captured on the family’s surveillance camera, and the suspect, a Newark male, 21, was arrested for suspicion of burglary.

• Teen wrecks $20K Saddle Rack mirror. Read more. 

Anyone with information about crimes in Newark is asked to call Newark Police Department's non-emergency line at 510-578-4237 or can call the Silent Witness Hotline at 510-578-4000, extension 500.

Follow the Newark Police Department at nixle.com.