Arrests Made in February Fremont Murder

A Fremont homicide case that had been sitting open since early February just moved in a big way. Police say two men — 19-year-old Kaleb Soto and 42-year-old Ricardo Duran — are now in custody in connection with the fatal shooting near Central Avenue and Joseph Street. The key turn did not come from some dramatic raid in Fremont. It came a month earlier, when Hayward officers handling a trespassing call recognized both men as people Fremont detectives already wanted to talk to. ### What actually happened on February 3? The shooting happened on February 3, 2026, at about 4:19 p.m. near Central Avenue and Joseph Street in Fremont. Multiple 911 callers reported gunfire. Officers got there within minutes, found one victim on the ground, and started trauma care, but the victim died at the scene or shortly after. Fremont’s Crimes Against Persons Unit then took over the case as a homicide investigation. (fremontpolice.gov) ### Who was arrested? Fremont police identified the suspects as Kaleb Soto, 19, and Ricardo Duran, 42. Police say both men were recognized by Hayward officers during a trespassing response on April 4, 2026. Fremont investigators then took custody of them in coordination with Hayward police, and both were later booked on warrants for Penal Code 187 — homicide. (fremontpolice.gov) ### Why did the arrests happen now? Basically, this was not announced as an immediate breakthrough after the shooting. The case stayed active for about three months. Fremont police say detectives had already identified the people involved, but the public update on May 7 shows the arrests were triggered when another department encountered the suspects during an unrelated call. That matters because it shows how a homicide case can hinge on cross-city recognition as much as on one clean investigative moment. (fremontpolice.gov) ### Do we know who was killed? Fremont police did not name the victim in the press release announcing the arrests. But court-record reporting tied to the case identified the dead man as Fernando Campos-Diaz. That same reporting said the shooting happened near a 7-Eleven after a confrontation involving people linked to rival Norteño-associated groups. Fremont police have not laid out that narrative in their own release, so those details should be treated as reporting from court records rather than the department’s formal account. (fremontpolice.gov) ### Why does the Hayward piece matter? Because it changes the shape of the story. This was not just Fremont detectives working inside city lines until they found their suspects. Hayward officers made the recognition during a trespassing detention, and Fremont police explicitly thanked Hayward for helping move the case forward. In plain language — a routine contact in one city appears to have unlocked a murder arrest in another. (patch.com) ### How serious is this case for Fremont? Police said the February 3 killing was Fremont’s second homicide of 2026. Fremont’s public transparency page lists it alongside the city’s other homicide cases, which gives some context for why the department treated the investigation as a major open case for months. Even in a city the size of Fremont, a second homicide that early in the year is the kind of case that stays high-priority. (fremontpolice.gov) ### What happens next? An arrest is the big shift, but it is not the end of the story. Police are still asking witnesses and tipsters to come forward, which usually means investigators are still tightening the timeline, the roles of each suspect, and the evidence chain that will matter in court. The public part of the case has moved from “who did this?” to “what can prosecutors prove?” (fremontpolice.gov) ### Bottom line? The news here is simple but important — Fremont finally has two named suspects in a February killing that had gone unsolved in public for months. The interesting part is how it happened: not through a splashy public break, but through patient detective work and a lucky-seeming recognition during a separate police call. (fremontpolice.gov)