Man arrested in homicides near gym at Bayfair Mall in San Leandro
SAN LEANDRO – A San Leandro man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with two separate deadly shootings outside a gym at Bayfair Mall last month.
According to San Leandro police, the shootings took place in the parking lot of the 24-Hour Fitness during the early morning hours of September 14 and September 24. In both shootings, the victims were shot while sitting inside their respective vehicles.
Police said Thursday that the victims were not specifically targeted and that the crimes were not directly related to the gym.
Using surveillance footage, police said they were able to identify a suspect after finding a person who was seen coming to and from the scenes of both shootings. The person wore similar clothing during both instances, including black work boots and what police described as a "distinctive" metal shoelace keeper, along with a red Nike backpack during the first homicide.
Police said the suspect had also taken the same route when leaving the scene.
After identifying the suspect, police distributed images to other law enforcement agencies and increased patrols in the area, including the use of undercover surveillance.
Around 2 p.m. Tuesday, an officer responding to an unrelated call saw a man matching the suspect description near the mall, in the area of Hesperian Boulevard and Halcyon Drive. According to the officer, the man was wearing a red Nike backpack and black work boots.
Additional officers responded to the scene and detained the man. During a search, an unserialized 9mm semiautomatic handgun was found on his person, police said.
The man, identified as 23-year-old Joshua Ballard of San Leandro, was taken into custody.
"We understand that this case garnered a lot of community attention and generated an understandably high level of concern for public safety, particularly at 24-Hour Fitness Bayfair. Our detectives worked tirelessly to canvass for and sift through numerous leads, evidence, and surveillance footage to connect the homicides and ultimately identify the suspect", San Leandro Police Lieutenant Abe Teng said in a statement.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has charged Ballard with two counts of murder, attempted carjacking, robbery, assault with a firearm, along with weapons violations.
Ballard is being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail, according to jail records. His is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
