{"id":2955,"date":"2026-06-24T17:40:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955"},"modified":"2026-06-24T17:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:40:57","slug":"east-bay-woman-turns-things-around-avoids-jail-in-robbery-spree-targeting-asian-females","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955","title":{"rendered":"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

OAKLAND \u2014 A Bay Area woman has completed a diversion program, allowing her to avoid jail and a criminal conviction for her role in a robbery crew that prosecutors say targeted \u201cAsian females.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more $165,138 lottery ticket sold at San Francisco store<\/a><\/p>\n

Sene Malepeai, 29, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2024, with the expectation of receiving two years in federal prison. But instead she spent the next two years completing a diversion program that required her to apologize and pay restitution, and to find ways to make amends by bettering herself with education and job training, court records show.<\/p>\n

She was ordered to pay $3,290.26 in restitution, records show.<\/p>\n

Now, Malepeai looks back at her guilty plea as day one of \u201ca new chapter\u201d in her life, a defense sentencing memo says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone who had been helpless so much of her life was required by the terms of her plea agreement, and more importantly, motivated by the desire to live a better life where she was in control, to take charge, secure housing, childcare, and a job in order to spare herself from imprisonment,\u201d Malepeai\u2019s lawyer, Kathryn Ross, wrote in court filings.<\/p>\n

Malepeai, her co-defendant Freddie Lee Davis III, and two others who avoided federal charges were identified by police as members of a robbery crew that committed violent purse snatchings around the Bay Area. Malepeai would later admit to police that the group went to Oakland\u2019s Chinatown specifically looking for woman who looked Asian to rob because they viewed them as \u201ceasy targets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Inventor of Crispr is skeptical about AI\u2019s impact on medical innovation<\/a><\/p>\n

Both Malepeai and Davis were charged with wire fraud for allegedly using stolen documents to steal victims\u2019 identity. Davis was sentenced to two years in federal prison back in October 2024, records show.<\/p>\n

But Malepeai\u2019s case became a success story. In court filings, federal prosecutors said she \u201cworked hard to meet her goals, including securing employment, completing her DUI courses, and participating in mental health treatment.\u201d They also noted \u2014 as did Ross \u2014 that she\u2019d been in a relationship with Davis during the crimes and that he was allegedly abusive to her.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThese accomplishments are strong indicators of success going forward, are indicative of rehabilitation, and should deter future criminal conduct in the future,\u201d a prosecution sentencing memo says.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump abruptly cancels signing a housing bill, blindsiding Republicans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The robbers went to Oakland’s Chinatown looking for “Asian females” to rob, and either stole cash or items that could be used to steal their identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEast Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’ - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’ - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The robbers went to Oakland's Chinatown looking for "Asian females" to rob, and either stole cash or items that could be used to steal their identity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T17:40:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T17:40:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955\"},\"wordCount\":411,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9014a0d2d50444fa34ea848930827e36.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955\",\"name\":\"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’ - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9014a0d2d50444fa34ea848930827e36.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T17:40:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9014a0d2d50444fa34ea848930827e36.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9014a0d2d50444fa34ea848930827e36.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":643},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2955#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’ - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’ - Next City Digest","og_description":"The robbers went to Oakland's Chinatown looking for \"Asian females\" to rob, and either stole cash or items that could be used to steal their identity.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-24T17:40:57+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’","datePublished":"2026-06-24T17:40:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955"},"wordCount":411,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9014a0d2d50444fa34ea848930827e36.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955","name":"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’ - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9014a0d2d50444fa34ea848930827e36.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-24T17:40:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9014a0d2d50444fa34ea848930827e36.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9014a0d2d50444fa34ea848930827e36.webp","width":1024,"height":643},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting ‘Asian females’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}