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OPD detains two in connection with Monica Rodas murder

on July 19, 2011

According to a press release issued by the Oakland Police Department Tuesday evening, two men are being held in connection with the July 14 murder of Monica Rodas, whose body was found burning on a residential Rockridge Street last week.

The two men, whose names have not been released, were detained by members of the police department’s Gang Investigations Task Force after a chase that began on the 4800 block of MacArthur Boulevard near the Maxwell Park area and the Mills College campus. According to the OPD, one of the men was arrested at 3:30 this afternoon on the campus of an elementary school on Steele Street. The second was arrested nearly two hours later in a nearby fenced-in lot after a perimeter was set up to prevent him from leaving the area and a canine unit was used to search for him.

The OPD currently considers the two men persons of interest in the ongoing investigation.

Rodas was a 21-year-old woman from Union City, and according to the San Francisco Chronicle, was the mother of a two-year-old boy. Her body had been dumped and set on fire on the 5800 block of Ivanhoe Road in North Oakland; neighbors reported the blaze at approximately 4:30 on the morning of July 14. Her death is being investigated as a homicide and the cause of her death is still under investigation.

Anyone with information regarding the ongoing investigation is asked to call the Oakland Police Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821.

3 Comments

  1. Neils on July 21, 2011 at 6:51 am

    That was an impressive turnaround time for OPD, well done.
    The victim was only 21 years old, how sad. Is the murder related to the Drug War?



  2. […] to the OPD, the two men were arrested yesterday after a foot chase yesterday that began on the 4800 block of MacArthur Boulevard, near the Maxwell Park area and Mills […]



  3. […] Rodas, a resident of Union City, was the 21-year-old mother of a 2-year-old boy. Valasco and Garcia were both arrested July 19 near the Maxwell Park area and the Mills College campus after leading police on separate […]



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