Oakland Police Arrest Man Accused In Violent Crime Spree
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – A man dubbed by authorities as Oakland's most wanted man was taken into custody for a series of violent crimes. Police credit the city's new crime fighting strategy leading to the arrest.
According to the Oakland Police Department, Jamar Cleveland allegedly went on a two-hour crime spree on June 4th.
"He shot two people, he did several carjackings and kidnapping," Oakland Police spokesperson Johnna Watson told KPIX 5. "That's a very dangerous individual in our community."
Cleveland, 26, was considered the worst of the worse because of the level of violence in the daytime crime spree.
On June 21st, Cleveland was profiled in a story on KPIX 5. He was arrested early Saturday morning on the 2300 block of Embarcadero, according to police.
When asked if the report helped led to the arrest of Cleveland, Watson said, "It certainly did. We did receive more community input, more community information through tips. Information which led us, along with other law enforcement agencies, to the location of where Jamar Cleveland was."
The arrest is a big boost for the police department's newly created Most Wanted program. Each of the city's five district captains spread the word about the highest risk, most dangerous suspects in their area.
A website for Oakland's most wanted will be launched soon. But already the program is showing promise. It's further proof there has been a noticeable change in people's willingness to help investigators, which is critical for the program to work.
"It's a testament of the program, this is exciting. We put information out in the community; this is somebody we're actively looking for. And a short time later, he is in custody," Watson said.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged Cleveland with 21 felony counts, including two counts of attempted murder.
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