Man Arrested For Fremont, East Bay Crime Spree

FREMONT, CA — Fremont, Concord and Oakland police detectives worked together to solve a series of crimes, resulting in the arrest of 29-year-old Otto Halafihi of Oakland. He is jailed in Contra Costa County on charges of robbery and elder abuse for robberies in Concord. He is also being held on a Fremont robbery warrant.

The Fremont warrant dates to May 9, when the Lowe's Home Improvement store at Pacific Commons was robbed. Police say that a man, now identified as Halafihi, approached the register area of the store where he lifted the front of his shirt and grabbed a black semi-automatic handgun from his waistband. The store employees backed away from the register. After threatening to shoot the employees, the gunman picked up two items he had been carrying and left the store. Store employees and witnesses say he fled in a white, 4-door Sedan.

Then on May 18, two women, ages 64 and 93, were robbed of their purses in Concord. The 93-year-old woman was knocked to the ground and suffered injuries so severe that she remains hospitalized. Concord Police obtained clear surveillance images of the suspect and his vehicle. The images were distributed to other police agencies, which led to the crimes being linked to the same suspect.

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The images were also distributed to the public resulting in several tips to police.

Once Halafihi was identified, detectives from Concord, Fremont and Oakland coordinated efforts to find and arrest Halafiti. The suspect turned himself in late Wednesday to Concord Detectives at a police sub-station in Patterson, 27 miles south of Tracy on I-5.

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"We wish to thank the members of the Concord Police Department detective unit for reaching out so quickly regarding this violent and armed robbery suspect," said Fremont Police Lt. Michael Tegner. "This was a great effort by many to solve these cases so quickly and safely apprehend the suspect. Further, the use of community-based video surveillance cameras and automated license plate readers again provided invaluable evidence in the Fremont robbery."

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Anyone with information about the Fremont robbery is asked to call the police department’s investigative unit at 510-790-6900 or email Detective Gebhardt at Mgebhardt@fremont.gov.

-Image via Fremont Police