Suspect Charged with Possession of Materials with Intent to Make a Destructive Device After Previously being Charged with Vandalism of Telecommunication Lines
During the month of September, Fremont Police Detectives investigated several incidents of vandalism where phone lines and fiber optic lines were cut in a residential neighborhood. Each time a vandalism incident occurred, the damaged lines caused outages where several thousand residents could not access the internet and make phone calls, including calling 911. Comcast/Xfinity, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon were companies affected by the vandalism to the telecommunication lines, which resulted in approximately $300,000 in damages.
Fremont Police Detectives spent numerous hours following investigative leads and ultimately identified Roshan Patel (46 years old, resident of Fremont) as the suspect in at least two incidents of vandalism involving cut phone lines and fiber optic lines. On September 28, 2022, Patel was arrested by Fremont Police Detectives for Penal Code 591 – disabling a telephone line and Penal Code 594(b)(1) – vandalism. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged Patel with four felony counts, including Penal Code 594(b)(1) and Penal Code 591.
During the investigation a search warrant was served at Patel’s residence and confiscated were several items later determined to be materials used to make explosive devices. Information on how to build destructive devices was also found during a search of Patel’s electronic devices. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has further charged Patel with Penal Code 18720 – possession of materials with the intent to make any destructive device or explosive. Patel remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail.
If you have any information regarding this case you can contact Detective Travis Macdonald at 510-790-6900, or email [email protected].
Incident: Additional Charge in Case Related to Vandalism of Telecommunication Lines
Date of Incident: September 28, 2022
Location: Area of Mission Boulevard and Cougar Drive
Media Contact: Sgt. Kim Macdonald, [email protected]
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