DNA On Elderly Victim's Shirt In 2020 Fremont Robbery Leads To Arrest

FREMONT, CA — A 22-year-old Hayward resident was charged this week with robbery and elder abuse crimes after his DNA was matched to a 2020 robbery of a 75-year-old man in Fremont, according to authorities.

David Spears currently is in custody, charged with suspicion of felony robbery and felony elder abuse, the Fremont Police Department said.

On July 6, 2020, the victim withdrew money from a Newark bank, and as he drove from the bank parking lot to his home was followed by three suspects in a white Chrysler 300, the department said.

After the man parked in front of his house, two of the suspects got out of their car "and violently assaulted the victim, who had just exited his vehicle," police said. "During the violent assault, the suspects robbed the victim of his cash, jewelry and cellular phone."

After learning during their investigation that one of the suspects touched the victim's clothing, Fremont detectives from the Crimes Against Persons Unit collected the victim’s items for DNA analysis — which resulted in Spears' DNA profile reportedly matching a sample obtained from the senior citizen's shirt, the agency said.

Fremont police said Spears, who is awating his future court dates, has "a lengthy criminal history, including additional robbery cases in bank parking lots from neighboring jurisdictions."

Anyone with additional information on the robbery can call or email Detective Madsen at JMadsen@fremont.gov or 510-790-6932. Anonymous tips can be texted with TIP FREMONTPD to 888777.

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