Man charged in Fremont motel robbery allegedly involving prostitution

FREMONT — A San Pablo man has been charged with holding a gun to a woman’s head and robbing her at gunpoint, court records show.

The 25-year-old man was charged on Thursday with robbery, assault with a firearm, gun possession by a felon, and making criminal threats, court records show. The robbery was reported to police two days later, by the alleged victim, who called 911 from the Motel 6 in Fremont where it happened, authorities said.

The woman told police that the suspect robbed her after attempting to recruit her into prostitution, authorities said. In an interview, the man denied robbing her but instead claimed the two had “exchanged blows” and that he had rifled through her purse afterwards, handing it back after discovering that there was nothing worth taking, according to court records.

Police say the woman suffered multiple bruises and that text messages between the two backed up her claim that he’d stolen money and her purse. She was briefly hospitalized, authorities said.

The man was on parole for a 2024 conviction involving burglary, grand theft, and a police chase in Santa Clara County, according to court records.