{"id":3379,"date":"2026-06-30T12:39:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3379"},"modified":"2026-06-30T12:39:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:39:28","slug":"san-leandro-police-detail-accused-two-time-killers-emotionless-confession-after-gym-shootings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3379","title":{"rendered":"San Leandro police detail accused two-time killer’s ’emotionless’ confession after gym shootings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DUBLIN \u2014 A San Leandro police detective revealed new details about the man accused of killing two people in near-identical shootings outside a San Leandro gym, publicly recounting the suspect\u2019s \u201cemotionless\u201d confession and apparent interest in violent literature, including a book on the Zodiac killer.<\/p>\n

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After his October 2023 arrest on two murder charges, Joshua Elijah Ballard, 25, waived his Miranda rights and sat down with detectives, confessing to fatally shooting both Sebahattin Ciftci, 46, and Emre Bozkurt, 21, over a 10-day span, Det. Cole Pricco testified at Ballard\u2019s preliminary hearing. The motive? Ballard wanted to steal a car for him and his sister to use, but in both cases declined to take the victims\u2019 vehicles, telling police that he felt he\u2019d been \u201ctaking too long\u201d and needed to leave, Pricco said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember him speaking almost monotone, being emotionless and I don\u2019t recall the exact words that he used. But I remember whatever he did say, walking away, thinking that he hasn\u2019t shown any remorse,\u201d Pricco said on the witness stand in January. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t feeling any remorse for these two individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard has been in jail for nearly three years; finally, on June 18, he received a potential trial date for this October, court records show. Prosecutors have charged him with committing two murders during carjacking attempts and with a multiple-victim enhancement, making him eligible for life without parole. Aside from his confession, surveillance footage links Ballard to both shootings, police testified.<\/p>\n

Both Ciftci and Bozkurt were shot in broad daylight, outside the 24-Hour Fitness at the Bayfair Center in San Leandro, both while sitting in the driver\u2019s seats of Toyota vehicles in the parking lot. At around noon on Sept. 14, Ballard allegedly approached Ciftci and demanded the keys to his Toyota Camry, then shot him in the head. He later claimed his victim grabbed the barrel of his 9mm pistol, according to police.<\/p>\n

Bozkurt was engaged in a video call with his cousin in Turkey when Ballard allegedly approached, forcing his cousin to remotely witness the homicide. The cousin later told police he heard a commotion and a gunshot, then watched as Bozkurt\u2019s killer took the cellphone, Pricco testified. Again, Ballard allegedly told police he demanded the keys to Bozkurt\u2019s Toyota Prius, and shot him when he grabbed the barrel of the pistol. Bozkurt was also shot in the head, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Ballard later allegedly repeated his confession in a recorded jail call with his mother and sister, according to police testimony. Ballard has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

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After both shootings, Ballard simply tried to move on with his life and convince himself that neither shooting had really happened, he told two investigators in a second interview, Pricco testified.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI remember him telling the District Attorney and the inspector that he was doing his best to tell himself that what had occurred wasn\u2019t real. Trying to disassociate himself from the incidents,\u201d Pricco said.<\/p>\n

Investigators later linked him to a third shooting, which occurred two weeks before the first homicide, outside the now-defunct In-N-Out in Oakland. Ballard and another man allegedly got into a fight and Ballard shot the man in the ankle, according to court records.<\/p>\n

In October, a San Leandro police patrol officer noticed a man wearing an outfit similar to the suspected killer: a windbreaker, cargo camoflauge pants, and a red backpack. The officer radioed for backup and more police came, surrounded the man, grabbed his arms, and handcuffed him, according to police testimony. Only then was Ballard identified, through an ID card in his pocket. He was also carrying a pistol, authorities said.<\/p>\n

It turned out he lived within a mile of the gym. Pricco said. Police searched his home, finding \u201citems that kind of gave us some insight into who this individual was.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe found a book about the Zodiac serial killer and then I found some adult graphic novels that appeared to have shown some violence or have some graphic detail in them,\u201d Pricco said.<\/p>\n

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When police raided the home of the man accused of three seemingly random shootings, they found ‘violent’ graphic novels and a book about the Zodiac Killer, a detective noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSan Leandro police detail accused two-time killer’s ’emotionless’ confession after gym shootings - 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=3379\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"San Leandro police detail accused two-time killer’s ’emotionless’ confession after gym shootings - 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