Police Arrest 3 in Auto Theft Cases

Police have arrested three people in two auto theft incidents and chased a fourth man through Hayward on a third, separate auto theft case, police said this week. Police made the first arrest in the 600 block of Valita Avenue at around 3:45 a.m. on Oct. 20. Residents called police because they saw a man removing items from the bed of a Nissan pick-up truck that they hadn’t seen before, police said.

Responding officers determined the truck had been reported stolen to the Oakland Police Department on Oct. 7, police said. As officers waited in unmarked cars for the suspect to return, they saw a Mercedes-Benz S-550 park near the truck. Police said the Benz had been reported stolen from a Union City residence on Oct. 7.

A man, later identified as Rydell Manahan, 35, of Hayward, got out of the car and went into a nearby residence that police said is known for criminal activity. Officers went into the home to conduct a probation search, police said, and arrested Manahan as he was trying to run away. During the search, a second suspect, Marcos Lopez, 34, of Hayward, was also arrested. Police identified Lopez as the person who residents reported was acting suspiciously at the stolen Nissan truck.

Police said the district attorney charged both men with auto theft and charged Manahan with possession of narcotics that were found in the car. In a second incident, officers responded to a report of suspicious activity at the Parkside Commons apartment complex located at 900 143rd Ave. at around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 21.

Residents told police they saw a man sitting on a Kawasaki motorcycle parked in the lot and called police after realizing the man was not the owner, police said. Witnesses said they saw the man load the motorcycle into the back of a Chrysler mini-van, which police said quickly drove out of the parking lot as officers approached. Police broadcast the description and license plate and within minutes, police said an officer spotted the mini-van getting onto I-580 from Grand Avenue. The officer tried to stop the car, but it fled, leading officers on a high-speed pursuit into Hayward, police said. The officers saw the car drive onto Mission Boulevard from Grove Way into opposing traffic, but police said officers deemed it too dangerous to continue the pursuit and the man got away.

No arrests have been made in that case, police said. In a third incident on Oct. 25, police said an officer equipped with an automatic license plate reader was driving on Alvarado Street at 9:30 a.m. when the computer system alerted him to a vehicle reported stolen from Oakland on Aug. 25. When the officer attempted to stop the car, a Mitsubishi Galant, it fled, police said, leading officers on another high-speed chase on I-880. The car exited in San Lorenzo and the driver fled on foot in the 15800 block of Via Alamitos, police said.

Deputies and a K-9 team from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department assisted San Leandro police in arresting Stephon Goodrich, 29, of Oakland on suspicion of auto theft. Police said he was found in a residential neighborhood, hiding in the yard. Police said the Alameda County district attorney charged Goodrich with auto theft, evading police and resisting arrest.

Anyone with information about any of the incidents is asked to call the San Leandro Police Department’s criminal investigation division with any information regarding this case or any other case at (510) 577-3230.

By Bay City News