Oakland man charged with kidnapping, sexually assaulting spa employees in daytime attack, also a suspect in similar Benicia incident

Oakland man charged with kidnapping, sexually assaulting spa employees in daytime attack, also a suspect in similar Benicia incident

OAKLAND — A local resident has been charged with entering a spa on International Boulevard, holding employees at gunpoint, and sexually assaulting two women during what police are calling an attempted rape, court records show.

Manual Primas, 68, of Oakland, was charged with kidnapping, assault with a firearm, false imprisonment by violence, sexual battery, battery with injury and being a felon in possession of a firearm in a 10-count criminal complaint. Primas is charged in connection with a Jan. 17 incident that police say was mostly captured on high-quality surveillance cameras, leading to his arrest.

At around 3:10 p.m. on Jan. 17, police say Primas entered a spa on the 300 block of International Boulevard in the Eastlake area of Oakland, brandished a revolver, pistol-whipped two female employees and forced them to a downstairs part of the business. There, he allegedly attempted to take off their shirts and ordered them to remove clothing. He allegedly fled from the business shortly thereafter, but his Volvo was caught on camera as he left, authorities said.

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Oakland police identified Primas from surveillance video at the spa. Early into the investigation, they also learned that Primas’ Volvo was spotted outside a spa in Benicia during a similar incident on the same day, authorities said.

Primas was arrested on Jan. 18 at his Oakland home, and police say he identified himself from surveillance footage of the Oakland attack. He has 11 felony convictions since 1976 — including six prior convictions for burglary — which bar him from legally owning firearms, according to the criminal complaint.

Primas pleaded not guilty at a Jan. 22 court appearance, and is being held in Santa Rita Jail without bail, court records show. His next court appearance, a preliminary hearing, has been set for March 11.