Arrests Made In Fatal Fremont Shooting

A Fremont homicide case that had been hanging open since early February just moved forward. Police said two suspects tied to the fatal shooting near Central Avenue and Joseph Street were arrested after Hayward officers ran into them during an unrelated trespassing call. That matters because the break did not come from a dramatic manhunt or a public tip blitz — it came from routine police contact weeks later. The arrests were announced May 7. ### What happened in February? The shooting happened on February 3, 2026, at about 4:19 p.m. Fremont police said they got multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire in the area of Central Avenue and Joseph Street. Officers arrived within minutes, found a victim on the ground, and gave trauma care. The victim later died. Police have not publicly identified the victim in the materials released with the arrest update. (fremontpolice.gov) ### Who was arrested? Fremont police named the two suspects as 19-year-old Kaleb Soto and 42-year-old Ricardo Duran. Investigators with the department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit said they had already identified the men as subjects in the homicide investigation before the April arrest. Both were later booked on warrants tied to Penal Code 187 — California’s murder statute. (fremontpolice.gov) ### How did Hayward get pulled into this? This is the part that makes the story turn. On April 4, Hayward police responded to a trespassing call. During that detention, officers recognized Soto and Duran as people of interest in the Fremont killing. Fremont investigators then coordinated with Hayward police, took custody of both men, and moved the case from investigation to arrest. Basically, a local cross-city handoff cracked the public-facing part of the case open. (fremontpolice.gov) ### Why does that detail matter? Because it shows how a lot of homicide cases actually move. Not every arrest comes from a single big clue. Sometimes detectives build the case quietly, identify likely suspects, and then wait for a lawful chance to grab them. Here, the catch is that Fremont had already done enough investigative work for Hayward officers to recognize the names as important once they made contact. That suggests the case had been active behind the scenes for weeks. (fremontpolice.gov) ### Was this a major case for Fremont? Yes — police said the shooting was Fremont’s second homicide of 2026. That gives the case extra weight in a city where homicides are not everyday events. When a killing becomes one of only a few for the year, pressure builds fast — on detectives, on city leaders, and on neighbors who want to know whether the violence was targeted or random. The public update answers only part of that. (fremontpolice.gov) ### What do police still need? They are still asking for witnesses and tips. Fremont police said anyone with information should call the department, and they also continue to accept anonymous tips by text or online. That usually means the arrests are not the end of the evidence-gathering phase. Detectives may still be trying to firm up timelines, motives, or who else was present when the shooting happened. (fremontpolice.gov) ### What’s still missing from the public story? A lot, honestly. Police have not laid out a motive, have not described the relationship between the suspects and the victim, and have not released many details about what led to the gunfire near Central and Joseph. They also have not said whether more arrests could follow. So the big change here is narrow but real — two named suspects are now in custody. (fremontpolice.gov) ### Bottom line The news is simple: a February homicide case in Fremont now has two arrests, and the break came from a separate Hayward police call. But the larger story is still unfinished — the city knows who police say was involved, not yet why the killing happened. (fremontpolice.gov)