Oakland shootout suspect is convicted sex offender with history of parole violations: court records
Oakland shootout suspect is convicted sex offender with history of parole violations
Police said a man who was released from prison last year after serving 20 years for a sex crime conviction engaged in a shootout with officers in Oakland on Sunday before setting a home on fire. Henry Lee reports
OAKLAND, Calif. - Police said a man who was released from prison last year after serving 20 years for a sex crime conviction engaged in a shootout with officers in Oakland on Sunday before setting a home on fire.
The incident began around 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Manzanita Park, where police said the man argued with a woman and threatened to kill her. After officers responded and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, he fled the scene and went from yard to yard to hide.
Surveillance video obtained by KTVU shows the suspect calmly walking into a woman's backyard at 10:45 a.m. after hopping a fence. The resident said off camera that the man holed up in her basement while she and her 14-year-old daughter were inside the home, unaware of the intrusion. Additional surveillance footage shows him leaving the yard at 10:54 a.m. without his jacket.
New details in Oakland shootout
What we know:
Hours later, around 3 p.m. on Sunday, police said the suspect lit items on fire, threw them at officers, and set an abandoned home on fire on 22nd Avenue near 23rd Avenue. Police deployed gas into the residence to force him out. The suspect came outside, fought with officers, and was ultimately taken on a stretcher to a hospital for evaluation.
"A lot of chaos in a short period of time caused by one individual, so clearly unsettling," said Oakland resident Matty Lynn Barnes. "He was on the other side of the fence, in our neighbor's basement hiding for a while before he decided to hop or go through the fence and you know ultimately end up on this property."
Man wheeled on gurney after Oakland shootout
Video shows the moments a man is wheeled away from the scene after a shootout in Oakland near Manzanita Park.
Aleem Spencer faces potential new charges
The backstory:
The suspect was identified as 44-year-old Aleem Spencer, a convicted sex offender who was released from prison last year.
Spencer was convicted in 2005 of kidnapping and assault with intent to commit a sex crime.
Since his release, state parole agents said he has done poorly, facing repeated arrests and violations, including failing to charge his GPS device and possessing a loaded rifle with a 30-round magazine.
"Unfortunately, Spencer has shown no progress in changing his criminal lifestyle, and his failures illustrate his resistance to positive changes," a parole agent wrote in court records.
Despite the chaotic event, neighbor Chuck Ervin noted a positive outcome for the community.
"The good news out of this bad situation is that it brought neighbors together," Ervin said.
What's next:
Spencer is being treated at a hospital and is expected to be moved to jail when he is medically cleared.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office will review the case to determine whether to formally file charges.
The Source: Information in this story came from previous KTVU reporting, court records and reporting by reporter Henry Lee.