Two homicides took place this September in San Leandro. Authorities announced the arrest of a single suspect, 23-year-old Joshua Ballard, who is being charged with both murders, according to the San Leandro Police Department. There's no evidence indicating that the victims were specially chosen or the crimes were associated with the venue, a 24-Hour Fitness in Bayfair, where they both took place.
The victims were discovered in their cars at the 24-Hour Fitness Bayfair parking lot on September 14 and September 24, each having gunshot wounds. The presence of 9mm shell casings, found in both vehicles pushed investigators to analyze surveillance video footage from nearby establishments.
Images from the footage helped identify a person of interest spotted at both crime scenes, wearing similar attire and unique black work boots with a metallic shoelace keeper. For the first homicide, the person was seen with a red Nike backpack. The San Leandro Police Department circulated these images and information amongst other law enforcement agencies and increased local surveillance.
On October 17, to a different call, a patrol officer found Joshua Ballard while he was wearing the red Nike backpack and the black work boots in the vicinity of Hesperian and Halcyon. Ballard was detained and found to be carrying an unserialized 9mm semiautomatic handgun on him. He was taken into custody and implicated in both murders, according to the San Leandro Police Department.
The San Leandro Police Department's Lieutenant Abe Teng acknowledged the seriousness of the case and expressed gratitude to both the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, for their assistance during the investigation.
Ballard faces charges of two counts of murder, attempted carjacking, robbery, assault with a firearm, and miscellaneous weapons violations.
The San Leandro Police Department requests the public for additional information related to the cases. The department provides various contact methods including anonymous tip lines and text-to-tip services.
