Long Haul Truck Driver Sentenced To 15 Years For Bay Area Sexual Assaults
FREMONT (CBS SF) -- Anmol Prasad, a 35-year-old long haul truck driver from Lathrop, has been sentenced to more than 15 years in jail for a series of rapes and assaults in the San Francisco Bay Area between 2015-2016, according to Fremont police investigators.
In an agreement with prosecutors, Prasad pleaded guilty to three counts -- two counts of assault with intent to commit mayhem, rape, sodomy or oral copulation and one count of forced sexual assault.
Investigators believe there may be additional victims who have not been contacted or who may be too afraid to come forward.
Other West Coast jurisdictions were also investigating Prasad along the route he traveled as a truck driver. Portland, Oregon, and Renton, Washington, investigators were also involved in the case.
According to court documents, Prasad's first crime in the Bay Area took place on October 14th, 2015. Alameda County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to the Chevron gas station in Castro Valley on a report of a stabbing.
The victim -- a 19-year-old female -- stated she was working as a prostitute in Oakland when she was picked up by Prasad. After agreeing to a "date", Prasad drove the two to a Wells Fargo Bank in Castro Valley and withdrew cash from the ATM. After returning to the
vehicle and giving the victim $300 cash, Prasad pulled out a knife and held it to the victims' throat.
The victim put up her left hand to protect herself and Prasad cut her with the knife. The victim suffered a laceration to her left hand which would require four sutures to close. Prasad proceeded to rob the victim of $340 cash -- the $300 he had given her and $40 she already had and drove away leaving the victim bleeding. Video footage from the Wells Fargo ATM machine corroborated the victim's story.
On October 25th, 2015 a 19-year-old female was contacted by Prasad at a Shell Gas station in Oakland. He offered to give the female a ride to Castro Valley which the female accepted. Instead, Prasad drove the female into a dead-end street in Oakland, pulled out a knife, held it to the victims' neck and demanded the victim preform sexual acts on him.
Fearing for her life, the victim complied with Prasad's demands. After the acts, Prasad did not let the female leave and began driving to Richmond. At approximately the same time, Richmond police received a call from a witness who had seen a female being held in a vehicle. The caller provided a license plate for the vehicle and the location it was last been seen.
Richmond officers located the vehicle pulling into a gas station. As the vehicle came to a stop, the female victim immediately exited the vehicle screaming that Prasad had a knife. Officers later searched the vehicle and located a large "Smith and Wesson" brand folding knife (blade measuring 6") behind the driver's seat. Prasad was arrested and booked for multiple charges including kidnapping, forced sex acts and brandishing a knife. However, the Alameda County District Attorney's office declined to prosecute the case.
On May 2nd, 2016, Prasad contacted a 20-year-old female who had posted an ad for prostitution on the internet. Thru text messages, the two arranged to meet in front of the 7-11 store located in the 39900 block of Farwell Dr in Fremont.
Once the victim arrived, she entered Prasad's vehicle. Prasad drove out of the area, parked and began to negotiate the sex act. During their contact, Prasad became angry and physically restrained the victim from leaving his vehicle.
As the victim tried to leave, Prasad grabbed a tire iron and began to hit the victim in her head. The victim believed she was going to pass out from the attack. The victim screamed "HELP" at the top of her lungs which caused Prasad to stop hitting her. Prasad then moved into the driver's seat of his vehicle and locked the vehicle doors.
Investigators said the victim begged for Prasad to let her go. The two grabbed for the victim's purse and struggled over it. Prasad started the ignition and drove away as the victim attempted to escape from the vehicle via the slider door.
The victim, believing she was being kidnapped, jumped out of the truck which was traveling at 40 mph. She sustained injuries to her feet, knees, hands, hips, chest and abdomen and was treated at a medical trauma center. The victim's purse, keys, and identifying information were all left inside the vehicle.
Fremont detectives immediately began to work on the investigation and obtained video surveillance from the area that captured photos of the suspect just prior to the attack.
Those photos were sent to detectives in other agencies in an attempt to identify the unknown suspect. An officer from the
Oakland police contacted Fremont detectives, identified the suspect and provided information on a related case he was investigating which Prasad was involved in.
On May 5th, 2016, Fremont detectives conducted surveillance at numerous addresses in an effort to locate and arrest Prasad in the 16100 block of Adobe Way in Lathrop.
A search of his vehicle revealed a black tire iron and paperwork belonging to the Fremont female victim. Prasad's wife was interviewed and told detectives he was a long-haul truck driver who worked "all over the country".
When Prasad was interviewed by detectives, he denied being in the Bay Area on the date of the Fremont incident and denied ever meeting the female victim. Prasad stated he couldn't remember the last time a female was in his vehicle. Prasad stated he had been married to his wife since 2013 and had never had sex with another woman other than his wife since that time.
While Prasad was being booked into jail, he was told about his additional felony warrant out of Washington State for rape. Upon hearing this Prasad stated, "I've never even been to Washington."
Prasad was booked into the Fremont jail for multiple felonies including kidnapping for the purposes of sexual assault, assault with intent to commit sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and committing a felony offence while on bail. Prasad was also booked for the outstanding Washington state felony rape warrant.
While in custody, Prasad began complaining of chest pain. He was transported to Washington Hospital for medical clearance. Once at the hospital, Prasad told nurses that he needed to use the restroom.
A Fremont police officer escorted Prasad to a restroom and as the officer attempted to re-handcuff him, Prasad swung a closed fist at the officer and punched the officer multiple times.
Prasad also grabbed a Fremont Detention officer who had been standing nearby and began striking her. Prasad and the Fremont officer fell against a nurse's desk in the triage room. Prasad grabbed ahold of a pen and began to thrust the pen toward the officer in an attempt to stab him.
Multiple hospital staff including doctors and nurses rushed to the officers' aid. The officer was able to push Prasad off of him and create distance between himself and Prasad. The officer discharged his Taser but it was not effective in subduing Prasad. Prasad continued to fight with the officer, was on top of the officer and began grabbing for the officer's firearm.
During the fight, the Taser was knocked out of the officer's hand. A nurse grabbed the Taser and handed it back to the officer. Prasad finally complied and was handcuffed. Both the police officer and the Detention officer suffered injury during the fight.