April 28, 2023 A Fresno police officer was injured while apprehending a burglary suspect, who had been arrested at least five times in the past two weeks and had been released from jail earlier that morning.
By Joshua Tehee and Anthony Galaviz Source The Fresno Bee Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A Fresno police officer had his ear partially torn off while attempting to arrest a burglary suspect Thursday morning.
The officer had responded to an alarm call at the Citi Bank on Kern and M streets around 6:15 a.m. and found shattered glass, according to Sgt. Diana Trueba Vega.
While waiting for backup units, he saw a man come out and run from the bank.
The officer gave chase and tackled the man.
Once the suspect was under control, colleagues saw the officer bleeding from the head area and noticed his right ear was partially torn off, Trueba Vega said. The officer was taken to Community Regional Medical Center where he was reported to be in stable condition.
According to police, this wasn’t this suspect’s first run-in with law enforcement in the past few days. He has been arrested at least five times in the last two weeks, for property crimes, burglaries and felony vandalism.
In fact, he had been released from Fresno County Jail earlier Thursday morning.
Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama identified the suspect as 31-year-old Willis Monroe Randolph.
“We did see the officer suffered a pretty severe laceration to the ear,” Balderrama said. “He was bleeding profusely. He’s going to be OK. He did require his ear to be sutured back.”
Balderrama said Randolph was arrested at least eight times in April.
“We knew who he was,” he said. “This is a prolific burglar and he’s been arrested for vandalism, received stolen property and burglary.”
Randolph faces felony charges of burglary, resisting arrest and committing a felony while out on bail. His new bail is $155,000.