Fremont Felony Arson, Vandalism Suspect Arrested Twice In 5 Days
FREMONT (CBS SF) -- A man arrested last Thursday in connection with setting fires in Fremont had been arrested on suspicion of similar crimes and released from custody just days earlier, according to police.
On Monday, police confirmed that 39-year-old Fremont resident Abdulfatah Idris was arrested Thursday on suspicion of felony arson and felony vandalism, his second arrest in the space of five days.
On Wednesday, witnesses observed Idris setting fires near Interstate Highway 680 near Mission Boulevard South, according to Fremont police.
Officers located Idris and took him into custody.
Police said Idris was also involved in a vandalism case in which he smashed a business window with a rock at the Fremont Hub earlier in the day Wednesday.
Idris was booked into Santa Rita Jail on June 18 where he currently remains pending an arraignment scheduled for Tuesday, June 23.
Previously on June 14, Idris was arrested on suspicion of felony arson after witnesses observed him set three fires along Mowry Avenue, but he was later released from custody under Alameda County's zero bail guidelines.
Those guidelines were issued amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to avoid crowding in jails and to try to limit the spread of the virus, police said.
While the Judicial Council of California on June 10 voted to end the COVID-19 emergency zero bail schedule in addition to other measures as California continued its phased re-opening, last week the Superior Courts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties extended the emergency order.
Law enforcement agencies and local prosecutors in the Bay Area have railed against the zero bail releases of suspects, and say some of those being released should not be eligible for bail and are often repeat offenders while out on bail.
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