Life was going fine for San Leandro man until a bully from high school turned up, police say

SAN LEANDRO — A San Leandro resident’s life was turned upside down when an acquaintance from high school contacted him out of the blue with a request to perform an illegal “job,” according to police.

It wasn’t long before the contact escalated into something much worse — extortion that lasted for weeks, cost the victim thousands of dollars and included death threats and a face-to-face robbery at the victim’s San Leandro home, according to court records.

Now, the alleged perpetrator is facing charges of being a post-high school bully. Alameda County prosecutors charged the 22-year-old Tracy resident with extortion, second-degree robbery and making criminal threats, court records show. He has posted $20,000 bail and been freed from jail.

It all started April Fool’s Day 2025, when the suspect contacted the 23-year-old victim about needing a “job” done. The victim was surprised to hear from a man he barely knew in high school, but he knew the Tracy resident well enough to fear violent repercussions, authorities said.

The “job” turned out to be acquiring opiate-based cough syrup from a pharmacy for the suspect to sell, authorities said. The San Leandro man refused to do it, and that’s allegedly when the extortion started. His refusal was met with threats and harassment, causing him to wire $4,700, authorities said.

Finally, the Tracy man showed up at the victim’s doorstep, took his phone and wired himself another $1,000, according to police.

Police arrested the Tracy man in late May, but his version of events was slightly different. He maintained that the San Leandro man still owed him $5,000 for an outstanding loan, and even took accountability for the threatening texts, claiming he was simply angry when he sent them.

Now it’s for the courts to deal with. The defendant has pleaded not guilty.