Man accused of stealing copper pipes, wires from Fremont school

FREMONT – Police in Fremont arrested a man over the Memorial Day holiday weekend after he allegedly stole copper pipes and wires from a middle school campus.

Around 7:15 a.m. Sunday, officers were called to Hopkins Junior High located at 600 block of Driscoll Road on reports of a burglary. Officers said a storage container on campus was broken into and some items were stolen.

Officers were called again later in the day, around 4 p.m., after a construction worker reported that the suspect may have returned to burglarize classrooms.

When officers arrived at the school and set up a perimeter, police said they heard a saw being used, before the suspect was seen exiting from a door and fleeing on an electric skateboard. Officers then chased the suspect on foot through campus until he reached a nearby ravine.

The suspect was then spotted entering a residential area near Kensington Drive and jumped the fence into a backyard, police said. As police set up another perimeter, the suspect left the backyard and onto a street when he was met by a police K-9 and an officer.

Police said the suspect then surrendered.

During a search of the school, police said the suspect had been cutting copper pipes and wires. He had also prepared what was described as a “large batch” of pipes to steal.

The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Aaron Hosmer of Santa Cruz, was arrested on charges of burglary and resisting arrest.

According to jail records, Hosmer is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning.