Police Log: 'Mechanic' Collects Cash for Fixing Cars He Disabled; Burglar Squeezes Through Pharm's Drive-Up Window

• Fremont police seek hit-and-run Toyota. Story here.

• Man tampers with cars, then offers to fix them for "small fee." Officers were called to Smart & Final regarding a man tampering with parked cars, then posing as an off-duty mechanic and charging owners to get their vehicles running. The Fremont male, 55, reportedly was using a wrench to undo transmission-linkage bolts on cars in the parking lot. As owners attempted to drive away, the automatic gearshift would not work properly, and in stepped the man who said he was a mechanic and could fix the cars for a "small cash fee" of $65. After the deal was made, the man would reach underneath the vehicle and have it fixed in minutes. One victim called police and the suspect, despite attempting to conceal the wrench, was arrested.

• Auto-parts employee embezzler.  A 19-year-old Tracy man, who worked at O’Reilly Auto Parts, was arrested for suspected embezzlement as an investigation revealed he routinely accepted returned items from customers, but kept the money for himself.

• Pill burglar goes in pharm's drive-up window. An in-progress burglary at Walgreens on Blacow and Grimmer boulevards had surveillance video showing a black male, 30 to 35, 6 feet tall and 175 to 180 pounds, breaking in through the pharmacy's drive-through window. The suspect wore a light-colored hooded sweatshirt, jeans with distinctive rear pockets, white beanie and high-top gym shoes. He stole prescription medications and fled before police arrived. 

• Necklace grab. A woman and her husband were walking around 6 p.m. at Fremont Boulevard near Sundale Avenue when a male walked by them three times before ripping a gold necklace from the female’s neck. The necklace broke and fell on the ground. The victim and her husband briefly struggled with the suspect, who then ran east on Sundale towards the medical complex. He was described as a black male, about 30 years old, brown eyes, wearing a grey hoodie, hood up, light-blue jeans with no emblems and a bulging right front pocket. He had no visible tattoos, scars or jewelry. 

• Marijuana warehouse. The manager of a Warm Springs warehouse suspected his tenants of illegal activity as they claimed to be an export company (but had no products to export), changed the facility's locks and the warehouse's "strange smell.” Police confirmed it was an indoor marijuana grow house with approximately 300 plants. 

• Masked gunman holds up Wells Fargo Bank. No one was injured during the incident. Story here.

• Amber Alert. Details.

• Owners of abused, injured "Roky" dog sought by Livermore animal control.

• Speed contest. A 23-year-old Hayward male motorist was cited for engaging in a speed contest with another vehicle on Blacow Road and Royal Palm Drive.  

• Life-threatening assault. A 50-year-old Central Avenue resident was hsopitalized with life-threatening injuries following an assault by an acquaintance, a Fremont man, 28.  

• Man threatens officers. While tending to an injured bicyclist on Fremont Boulevard and Bay street, an officer was approached by a Fremont man, 39, requesting intervention in a fight he was having with a female, and then became increasingly hostile and agitated. Other officers arrived and detained him as he threatened to kill himself and the officers. He was transported to a hospital and arrested for threatening and interfering with a public official. 

• Woman robbed of cell phone while walking down street. Story here.

• Hiker's classic car stolen. A man parked his white 1968 Austin Mini between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in the gravel lot at Patterson Ranch Road and Paseo Padre Parkway near Coyote Hills Regional Park while he went for a hike. When he returned, his vintage car was gone. 

• DUI crash. A 28-year-old man was arrested for suspected driving under the influence after reportedly causing a single-vehicle accident. He and his two passengers attempted to flee the scene. No details provided on location or time of accident. 

• Attempted home burglary. A resident pulling into Powder River Place at 4:15 p.m. saw a man, described as a slender black male with short hair, in a parked car in front of his mailbox. Before the resident could pull into his driveway, the man honked his horn several times and drove off. The resident noted his front door was damaged as if someone had tried prying it open. The suspect's vehicle was a silver compact, possible two-door hatchback, with paper plates 

• Another break-in attempt. A Sunwest Trail resident's alarm company called at 3:30 p.m. stating the individual's home alarm was activated. The homeowner returned to find a wood door damaged by a pry tool. The deadbolt, however, was intact. No entry was made.

• Burglars strike while elderly woman naps. A Perkins Street resident returned home at 5 p.m. to find his front door wide open and  house ransacked. His 71-year-old mother was home alone all day, and around 4:20 p.m., while she was napping, heard someone trying to open the bedroom door. By the time she got out of bed to look, the intruder was gone. Jewelry and electronics were taken.    

• Honda stolen from BART. A light-blue 1994 Honda Accord EX was stolen from Fremont BART parking stall No. 234 between 7:15 a.m. and 7:56 p.m.The BART PD case number is 1307-4437. If you may have witnessed or have information, contact on-duty BART PD Watch Commander at (510) 464-7020.

• One charge leads to another ... and another. Police visited Motel 6 North for a possible burglary as one guest accused another in a neighboring room of stealing his laptop while his door was left ajar. The victim had a non-extraditable warrant out of New Mexico.  The suspect was on probation with a search clause, but a room search did not locate the laptop. Marijuana, however, was found. As the officer went to fetch her citation book, she was verbally accosted by an unrelated, intoxicated fellow, who had just stepped out of the passenger seat of a Corvette parked in a handicap space without a handicap placard. The drunk individual, 45, was arrested for public intoxication and drugs, as he was found in possession of marijuana for sale.   

• Two suspiciously lurking at ATM. Two males who appeared to be casing outside ATMs at Bank of America on Beacon Avenue and Fremont Boulevard matched previous reports of suspects stealing PINs and accessing accounts after patrons leave. Police contacted the pair, 26 and 27 years old, who were both from San Francisco with no legitimate reason to be hanging at the ATMs. Both had warrants and one was arrested for prowling.

Anyone with information about any crime in Fremont is asked to contact the Fremont Police Department at 510-790-6900 or by submitting a tip online at www.fremontpolice.org/tip.