FREMONT — Attempted murder and mayhem charges have been filed against a 28-year-old Fremont man accused in a violent machete attack Sunday morning that left his next-door neighbor with multiple wounds and the possibility he could lose sight in one eye, according to authorities and court records.
The suspect, Zekria Joyaa, is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail and is scheduled to enter a plea next Tuesday.
He was arrested about 4 p.m. Sunday at his brother’s home in Union City, five hours after the violent attack at an apartment complex in the 300 block of Rockett Drive where the two men lived. Police said the men knew each other and had no problems before the unprovoked attack.
The machete used in the attack and bloody clothing belonging to Joyaa were found in a dumpster at the brother’s apartment, Fremont Officer Anita Silva said in court documents.
In an interview after his arrest, Joyaa told Fremont investigators “he blacked out” and had no recollection of what happened, Silva said in the documents.
About 11 a.m. Sunday, the 63-year-old victim’s daughter called dispatchers “screaming that her father had been stabbed multiple times and was found lying on the floor of his apartment,” according to the documents. She also said he had been attacked with a machete.
The victim was found “writhing in pain with apparent stab wounds to his face, neck, torso and hands.”
The victim told officers he had been stabbed by his neighbor, later identified as Joyaa, “multiple times without reason,” according to the documents. Other witnesses also identified Joyaa as the suspect and provided information about where he was, authorities said..
After Joyaa was arrested, his brother told police he had called him Sunday morning and said “I just hurt this guy and want to come to your house,” according to the documents.He showed up wearing bloody clothing that he discarded along with the machete and was given a clean set of clothes by his brother, the documents said.
The victim is expected to be hospitalized for an extended period. Besides suffering at least 18 lacerations, doctors also believe he may not have use of one eye.