Armed Suspect Caught in Dumpster

Fremont police arrested a 43-year-old man after officers and bystanders tracked him to a dumpster on Pestana Court during a Monday morning chase. (kron4.com) The encounter began at 8:38 a.m. on April 20 near Industrial Drive and South Grimmer Boulevard, where patrol officers said they spotted Fortino Preciado and saw what looked like a gun handle protruding from his clothing. (kron4.com) Police said Preciado ran when officers tried to stop him, then went through barbed wire as officers set up a containment area around nearby businesses instead of following him through it. Witnesses then pointed officers to a dumpster on Pestana Court. (kron4.com; newsbreak.com) Officers surrounded the dumpster and used a drone and a police dog before taking Preciado into custody, according to Bay City News and Fremont police. He was booked on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm. (sfgate.com; kron4.com) The case landed in an industrial part of south Fremont, near Grimmer Boulevard, where police said they locked down several businesses during the search. Fremont police say the department handled 297,302 calls for service citywide and serves about 230,646 residents across 90 square miles. (kron4.com; fremontpolice.gov) Fremont has built out both a K-9 unit and a drone program for searches like this one. The department says its drone fleet has been deployed more than 3,450 times since April 2020, and the K-9 roster listed six active patrol dog teams as of February 2026. (jobs.fremontpolice.gov; fremontpolice.gov) The department also publishes a public crime map and weekly blotter, with incident data updated daily for the prior 180 days. Fremont police say the map is meant to promote transparency and crime-prevention awareness, though it is not a complete record of every case. (fremontpolice.gov) Patch and other local outlets published the arrest after Fremont police confirmed the case this week. Preciado was in custody by Thursday, ending a chase that started with a visible gun grip and ended inside a dumpster. (patch.com; kron4.com)