Full Notification

On Friday, November 23rd, San Leandro Police officers located and arrested a man suspected of intentionally starting a fire in the bathroom of a local restaurant.

The incident occurred on Monday, October 8th, 2018 at the Ana Rosa's Mexican restaurant located at 2089 E.14th St. in San Leandro. Around 6:20 pm that evening, employees evacuated the restaurant after smoke and flames were coming from the bathroom. Fire crews arrived and extinguished the fire which was determined as intentionally set. 

An employee of the restaurant stated that just moments before the smoke was seen, a man entered the restaurant and asked to use the bathroom. 

Police arrived and began to investigate the case as an arson. Officers reviewed surveillance video and observed the same subject mentioned by the employee enter and exit the restroom during the time of the fire. The description of the subject was broadcasted to area law enforcement.  

Last Friday evening, San Leandro Police officers were dispatched to a retail store in downtown San Leandro regarding 32-year-old Rodney Rushing who was detained by security officers for shoplifting. Upon police arrival, the officer immediately recognized the man from the video in the arson investigation. Rushing matched the description of the suspect in the bathroom restaurant fire and was taken into custody for further investigation. 

San Leandro Police detectives questioned Rushing about the October 8th incident and he admitted to being in the restaurant bathroom around the time of the fire, however, does not remember what happened. 

On Tuesday, November 27th, the case was presented to the Alameda County District Attorney. Rushing was charged with one count of Arson, a felony under California Penal code section 451(B). 

"Our Patrol officer did a great job recognizing this subject from a previous case," said San Leandro Police Lieutenant Isaac Benabou. "This is exactly how cohesive policework is done. This is a dangerous individual who needed to be caught, as he is most likely responsible for several other similar cases."

San Leandro Police detectives will continue to investigate other arson cases with Rushing as a possible suspect.  

Rushing remains in custody at Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.