On September 10, 2018, at approximately 3:00 p.m., an armed home invasion occurred inside a residence, located in the 35900 block of Magellan Drive in Fremont. A 29 year old male victim was arriving home when he noticed a suspicious vehicle parked in his driveway (vehicle backed in). The male victim took note of the license plate and noticed two suspects (one later identified as suspect Alexander Rhodes; the other an unknown black male wearing a ski-mask covering half his face) peering into the door area of his residence. The suspects approached the male victim and grabbed him. They brandished a firearm with an extended magazine at the victim and drug him inside his residence. The suspects demanded money and marijuana from the victim, which they believed to be inside the residence.
Once inside, the suspects encountered a second victim, a 64 year old female, who was ordered to the ground and pushed onto the floor. The suspects continued to yell at the victims, demanding money and marijuana. The male victim and the suspects began to fight over the firearm. During the struggle the male victim was struck in the head with the firearm (pistol-whip) causing a significant, but non-life threatening head injury. Suspect Rhodes put the male victim in a chokehold and continued to ask where the money and marijuana was. The male victim was eventually able to break free of the hold. He ran out of the house and called 911 to report the incident.
Multiple Fremont Police Department patrol officers, CSI’s and detectives immediately responded to investigate the crime. CSI’s collected several live rounds of ammunition found on the floor inside the residence. It’s believed the rounds were released from the suspect’s firearm during the struggle. The male victim was transported via ambulance to a local hospital for medical care.
Detectives researched the suspect license plate and found it to be registered to a residence in Kerman, California. Through the investigation it was also learned Alexander Rhodes was connected to the vehicle. Additionally, Rhodes was found to be connected to the crime through license plate reader cameras, positive identification by victims and other investigative techniques. Rhodes had no prior connection to the victims or the victim residence.
A criminal history check of Rhodes revealed three (3) active felony warrants, stemming from separate incidents, for his arrest. The warrants were for robbery, burglary and the sexual assault of a small child. The sexual assault case was an active investigation by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office who held a $1,000,000 warrant for Rhodes arrest. ACSO publicized information about their case, seeking the public’s assistance to locate Rhodes on August 9, via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ACSOSheriffs/posts/1826694564076024.
Safely locating Rhodes became a top priority and detectives from the Fremont Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office immediately began to pool resources. The Fremont Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit, General Assignments Unit, Special Investigation Unit and the Crimes Against Person Unit began to physically search for Rhodes and the suspect vehicle.
On September 12, 2018, detectives located the suspect vehicle parked in Hayward. Surveillance on the vehicle was set up by multiple members of the Fremont Police Department and watched as Rhodes entered the car and drove away. Surveillance units followed Rhodes as he drove into San Francisco, where he was eventually arrested without incident. Rhodes was interviewed by detectives from both agencies. He provided a statement to both crimes and was booked into Santa Rita Jail.
"This is a great example of the positive working relationship ASCO and Fremont PD share. It was a great effort to locate and arrest this armed and dangerous suspect in a timely manner," said Fremont Police Lieutenant Michael Tegner. "Further, the use of technology, including automated license plate readers once again assisted in quickly solving a high priority case. Visual evidence is always a plus and incredibly valuable to the prosecution."
Rhodes is currently in custody on the three warrants. The armed home invasion robbery that occurred Monday in Fremont will be presented to the Alameda County District Attorney for review and charging on September 14, 2018.
Detectives are continuing work on this case in an effort to identify the second suspect. He was described as a Black male, 5'8"-5'9", 160lbs, early 30's in age, wearing all black clothing including a puffy black jacket and a black ski mask. He wore a foam sports mask which covered the area below the bridge of his nose.
Anyone with information regarding Rhodes or this crime is encouraged to contact the Crimes Against Persons unit at 510-790-6954. We will also accept anonymous tips. Please either text TIP FREMONTPD, followed by your message to 888-777 (140 character limit), or send a message via the web at https://local.nixle.com/tip/alert/6216337.
