Sacto 9-1-1: Suspected bus hijacker held in Redding on $100,000 bail

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April 10, 2011

Suspected bus hijacker held in Redding on $100,000 bail

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

A San Francisco man was being held on $100,000 bail in Redding today after he was arrested on suspicion of hijacking an Amtrak bus Saturday night, Redding police said.

The suspect - Robert A. Fender, 43 - was arrested after a foot chase near the Redding bus terminal, police said.

Quick-thinking by the bus driver, who threw a kill switch on the outside of the bus, apparently prevented the suspect from driving away from the Redding Area Bus Authority station in the 1500 block of Yuba Street, according to police spokesman Cpl. Bart Langley.

There was no immediate word today on whether passengers were aboard the bus during the incident. It began shortly after 7 p.m. with the report that a man was inside the bus, threatening the driver with a knife and vowing to commandeer the bus.

Langley said the suspect pulled a knife from his waist band and threatened the driver, Phillip Drake, 58, of Cottonwood.

The driver was able to step off the bus, and the suspect tried to close the bus door, police said.

Drake tried to stop the suspect, but police said the would-be hijacker tried to stab the bus driver.

They said Drake ran to the side of the bus where he was able to activate a kill switch, disengaging the bus engine.

Unable to drive the bus, the suspect fled on foot from the station and headed south on California Street with the knife in his hand, police said.

Police arrested Fender near Placer and California streets. Fender was being held in the Shasta County Jail with a $100,000 bail for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon, terrorist threats and carjacking and other charges, Langley said.

Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.

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Q: What happened with the case regarding Marc McCormick? He was accused of videotaping a woman in her home and was arrested. He lives in my neighborhood and I see him all the time. Were charges dropped?

A: According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, misdemeanor charges have been filed against Mark William McCormick, alleging that he used a camcorder or other instrument to view an individual in a place where there was an expectation of privacy, trespassing and peeping.

His next court date is June 4.

According to Sacramento police logs, McCormick, 40, was arrested March 8 after the victim reported that a friend had entered her home without her knowledge to secretly videotape her.

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