Week in Review: Man Found Dead in Alameda Creek; Woman Convicted of Murdering Michelle Le

FREMONT

Man Found Dead in Alameda Creek Believed to be Suicide

An elderly man was found dead in Alameda Creek near the area of Paseo Padre Parkway and Sequoia Terrace in what authorities say might have been a suicide. The man's identification has not yet been released pending notification of his family but the man lived in Fremont and was suffering from a terminal illness, said Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. Ray Kelly. A suicide note was found inside one of the man's pocket, Kelly added.

City Sports Club to Open Fremont Location Next Spring

A new gym is coming to town. Come next year, City Sports Club is set to expand to Fremont. Building permits were issued by the City of Fremont on Oct. 4 for the new 44,400-square-foot fitness club, according to Wayne Morris, principal planner for the City of Fremont. Set to be located at the former site of Cinedome Theaters, the club will be operated by City Sports Club, which is part of Fitness International, LLC, which also operates LA Fitness. Construction began Oct. 4, and the developer is anticipating a completion date of spring 2013, Morris said.

Customers Scare Off Would-Be Robbers

Police are investigating an attempted armed robbery of CJ Liquors on Stevenson Boulevard. Authorities said two suspects tried to rob the store’s clerk at gunpoint but became started and fled when a customer came in the store. No further details were available. More crime reports from this past week can be viewed here.

NEWARK

Businesses Found Burglarized Halloween Morning

A tobacco shop and a pair of restaurants were found burglarized in the early hours of Halloween, police said. According to Newark police, officers discovered the first burglary after they responded to Cigarette World on the 5800 block of Jarvis Avenue just after 3 a.m. Wednesday when an alarm was set off. Police officers were asked to check a nearby cigarette store in the Raley's Shopping Center and those officers found two doors that were forced open, one of which was next to the Cigarette Shop located at 6255 Jarvis Ave, according to Newark police. New Golden Chinese Food restaurant and Venus Bakery Cafe were among the businesses in the Raley's Shopping Center that police found burglarized.

Cargill Landscapes Memorial Garden for High School

Cargill employees volunteered time in late October to re-landscape a portion of Newark Memorial High School to build a memorial garden to honor students who died while enrolled at the high school. The garden was built near the school’s entrance. The volunteers also re-planted an employee memorial which is located near the memorial garden. Read more here.

Police Find Stolen Laptop at Former High School Student’s Home

Police responded to an apartment on Baine Avenue around 10:40 p.m. to do a follow-up on the investigation of a laptop stolen from a teacher at Newark Memorial High School. Police were able to find out where the laptop was because it had tracking software installed. Police made contact with a former Newark Memorial High School student who lived in the home who was currently under house arrest and the teenager was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property after police located the computer. Police also found three other Dell laptop computers that each had an “Alameda County Office of Education” sticker on them. The minor was transported to Juvenile Hall and the investigation is ongoing. For more crime reports from this week, click here.

UNION CITY

Woman Convicted of First-Degree Murder for Death of Michelle Le

Union City resident Giselle Esteban was convicted of first-degree murder in connection to the death of nursing student Michelle Le, who disappeared from a Kaiser hospital in Hayward in May 2011. Le’s remains were not found until four months after her disappearance. The conviction came after four-and-a-half days of deliberation among jurors. Prosecutor Butch Ford argued that Esteban killed Le because she believed that Le, who Esteban was once friends with, was having a romantic relationship with the father of her 6-year-old daughter. Read more about the trial here.

City Unveils New Station Center

On Thursday, the City of Union City held a ribbon cutting ceremony to formally unveil the new Station Center, located in the heart of the Intermodal Station District. The city envisions the 105-acre area as being a robust, transit-oriented hub where residents can shop, work, live, play and have easy access to regional transportation. MidPen Housing developed a state-of-the-art, award-winning affordable housing complex that opened last October. The five-story structure features 157 rental units along with retail space, a community garden, a computer lab and a 35-foot high play pyramid. The complex also provides afterschool tutoring and free health assessments and health education courses through a partnership with San Francisco State University’s School of Nursing. Click here for more details.

Pair of Union City Residents Injured in San Francisco Shooting

Two Union City residents, who are believed to be Norteno gang members, were injured in a Wednesday afternoon shooting in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, police said. Authorities said one was critically injured and the other was treated and released. For the full report, click here.

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