Friday evening at about 5:32 P.M., Contra Costa CHP was advised of a six-vehicle collision on Vasco Road, just north of Camino Diablo in east Contra Costa County. An on-duty Contra Costa Sheriff’s deputy was involved but thankfully only sustained minor injuries.
Three parties from the collision were transported to local hospital’s by CHP helicopter, Contra Costa Sheriff’s office Cal-Star helicopter, and Reach regional helicopter as well. Three other parties were transported to local hospitals by ground ambulance. Thankfully all injured parties sustained non-life-threatening injuries. We’d like to thank our allied agencies and emergency personnel on scene for their help in this incident.
The cause of the collision is still under investigation. Alcohol and/or drug impairment is not suspected. If anyone has information about this collision, please call the Contra Costa CHP Office at 925-646-4980. Thank you and please drive safe.
Read MoreBy Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa District Attorney
On Monday July 15, 2019, defendants Cornelius Salmer, Antoinette Green, Benisha Seldon, and Jonnie Gilbert pleaded guilty to insurance fraud for their roles in an organized fraud ring. The defendants submitted fraudulent auto insurance claims in excess of $100,000 to insurance companies using multiple vehicles and stolen identities.
Salmer pleaded no contest to six felonies, including three counts of filing a false insurance claim in violation of Penal Code section 550(a)(1) and three felony counts of identity theft in violation of Penal Code section 530.5. Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge David Goldstein sentenced him to three years in prison and ordered him to pay $63,217.26 of restitution pursuant to the terms of the plea.
Seldon and Green each pleaded no contest to two felonies for filing a false insurance claim in violation of Penal Code section 550(a)(1) and identity theft in violation of Penal Code section 530.5. Judge Goldstein sentenced Seldon to three years of formal probation and 180 days of jail and ordered her to pay $32,597.02 restitution pursuant to the plea terms. Judge Goldstein also sentenced Green to three years of formal probation and 180 days of jail and ordered her to pay $19,414.17 restitution.
Gilbert pleaded no contest to a single count of receiving stolen property as a misdemeanor and received a sentence of two years’ probation, 30 days jail, and $2,450.52 of restitution pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement.
The case originated with a referral from the analysts at the National Insurance Crime Bureau that triggered a joint investigation by the California Department of Insurance, the California Highway Patrol, and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. Investigators linked multiple insurance claims to the defendants and identified a corridor of suspected mail theft along the Interstate 5 freeway by locating and interviewing the identity theft victims. The investigators traced the money from the fraudulent claims to identify and arrest the charged defendants for this fraud conspiracy.
Deputy District Attorney Greg Chiarella prosecuted the case. DDA Chiarella is assigned to our Auto Insurance Fraud Unit.
The District Attorney’s fraud units investigate and prosecute all forms of insurance fraud, including false claims activity, organized fraud rings, health care provider fraud and kickback schemes, industry insider fraud, and employer premium fraud. You can report suspected insurance fraud by email to DA-ReportFraud@contracostada.org.
Read MoreBy Tim Leong, Director, Communications and Community Relations, CCCCD
Contra Costa Community College District (District) chancellor Fred Wood announced he plans to retire on March 31, 2020. Since joining the District in 2017, Wood is credited with bringing stability to the District during a time of enrollment challenges and significant changes in the funding formula for California community colleges.
“After considerable and thoughtful deliberations, I have decided to retire after a
four-decade career in higher education due to increased personal obligations and because I firmly believe the District is ready for new leadership”, said Wood. “Although there is never a perfect time for a leadership transition, the District is in a great place with a very strong financial position, stabilized enrollment, and doing a tremendous job of serving our students and community.”
The chancellor also cited other reasons the District is ready for new leadership by acknowledging the colleges are fully engaged and preparing for upcoming accreditation visits, the migration to a new format for district policies is underway, the capital construction bond program is moving along well, stronger relationships are being developed with educational and community partners, and the Governing Board has just approved a new District five-year strategic plan.
“We have been extremely fortunate to have Fred’s leadership over the past few years”, said Governing Board President Vicki Gordon. “His honesty, integrity, thoughtful leadership, and passion for students were exactly what the District needed during this time. We will miss his leadership and he will be a hard act to follow.”
The Governing Board will begin discussing how they will recruit the next chancellor at their upcoming meetings. The plan is to complete the selection before Wood’s retirement to ensure a smooth transition.
Wood grew up in Martinez, attended Diablo Valley College as a first-generation college graduate, and credits the community college experience for transforming his life. He is grateful for the opportunity to come “back home” and contribute to the District’s legacy of making a difference in the lives of its students.
“What I am most proud of during my tenure is the opportunity to join our Governing Board, faculty, staff, and community leaders in their work to support our students,” said Wood. “They deserve the recognition for the success of our District and our three excellent colleges.”
The Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD) is one of the largest multi-college community college districts in California. The CCCCD serves a population of 1,019,640 people, and its boundaries encompass all but 48 of the 734-square-mile land area of Contra Costa County. The District is home to Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, as well as educational centers in Brentwood and San Ramon. The District headquarters is located in downtown Martinez.
Read MoreBy Hercules Police Department
On June 24, 2019, at approximately 1:05 pm, an Officer attempted to stop a red, 2015, Nissan Altima, on San Pablo Avenue near Sycamore Avenue for speeding. The vehicle did not yield for the officer’s emergency lights and turned east onto Sycamore Avenue. The vehicle started to cut in and out of traffic while still ignoring the Officers emergency lights. The vehicle drove through a red traffic light and then continued to weave in and out of traffic east bound on Sycamore Avenue. The vehicle finally yielded in the Rite Aid Parking lot near the Turquoise Drive entrance.
The driver, 53-year-old Stephen McDonald from Hercules, was detained. McDonald displayed objective signs of being intoxicated. McDonald was placed under arrest for Evading the Police and DUI and ultimately transported to jail.
From post on Hercules PD Facebook page on Wed., July 17, 2019.
Read MoreInvestigation started by FBI Safe Streets Task Force
By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa District Attorney
On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, 34-year-old Richmond resident Mychal Duane Nelson was charged by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office in a felony complaint alleging violations of sex trafficking a minor, pandering a minor, using a minor for sex acts, showing pornography to a minor, contact with a minor for a sex offense and pandering, with allegations that he suffered prior “three strikes” convictions.
In a separate case, Nelson has also been charged with the residential burglary of an apartment in Hercules where losses exceeded $20,000. Nelson is a known associate with a North Richmond Street Gang and has prior arrests for violent crimes. He is currently on State Parole.
The sex trafficking investigation started with the Federal Bureau of Investigation/Contra Costa County Safe Streets Task Force and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Unit. The investigation showed that Nelson was using social media and other forms of communication to actively recruit a 16-year-old girl and encourage her to engage in prostitution. As part of this process, Nelson sent the girl sexually explicit videos and images of himself and requested that she do the same.
During the sex trafficking investigation, Nelson was tracked throughout Northern and Southern California with the assistance of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles County Human Trafficking Task Force, the Richmond Police Department, the Vallejo Police Department and several federal law enforcement agencies. He was ultimately arrested on July 13 in Hayward by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility.
Social media platforms are frequently used to identify and recruit minors into the commercial sex industry. If you or someone you know are being pressured or encouraged to engage in prostitution to benefit or help support another person, help is only a phone call away. Contact Community Violence Solutions at 800-670-7273 to speak to a confidential counselor. Or visit the Contra Costa Family Justice Centers in Richmond or Concord to talk to a Navigator about a variety of services and support available right here in Contra Costa County. The Family Justice Centers are a family-friendly one-stop center serving victims of human trafficking, domestic violence and other types of interpersonal violence. No appointment is needed, and the centers are located at 256 24th Street in Richmond, 2151 Salvio St., Suite. 201 in Concord or 3501 Lone Tree Way in Antioch. To learn more about human trafficking in Contra Costa County, visit the Contra Costa Human Trafficking Coalition’s webpage at www.contracostacoalition.org.
Nelson has two pages on Facebook. The first page has his name spelled correctly and showing him living in Richmond. The other has his name misspelled Mychael Nelson and living in Antioch.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office Senior Inspector Kevin Coelho at 925-957-8629.
UPDATE: According to Alonso, “there might be additional victims.”
Case Information: People v. Mychal Nelson 01-190646-0; People v. Mychal Nelson 02-330323-7
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreThe Hazel-Atlas Mine and Greathouse Visitor Center will be closed until September 10 while a new exhibit is installed. No mine tours will be available during the construction period. Sidney Flat Visitor Center, located at park headquarters, will be open on weekends during the summer from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The new Black Diamond Coal Mine exhibit, built into the existing Hazel-Atlas silica sand mine, will be an immersive experience taking visitors into a recreated 1870s coal mine, part of California’s largest coal mining operation. All of the original coal mines at the preserve have been closed to the public and permanently sealed for public safety. Visitors to the new exhibit will experience the sights and sounds of a working coal mine from nearly 150 years ago when immigrant miners worked deep in the earth to supply California with the energy needed to power and transform the state’s economy from rural to industrial. The new exhibit is scheduled to open to the public in the spring.
Black Diamond Mines Naturalist Eddie Willis is looking forward to the new addition to the Hazel-Atlas Mine and Greathouse Visitor Center. “We are excited to showcase this new exhibit which will allow visitors to connect more directly with the coal mining legacy of these hills in a safe and educational way,” said Willis.
To help fund the visitor center exhibit, the Regional Parks Foundation secured two grants from the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation and Marathon Petroleum.
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By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff and the Contra Costa D.A.’s Office recently received information about a person who was allegedly possessing and sharing child pornography. Detectives launched an investigation and on July 3, 2019, executed search warrants at residences in Danville and Dublin.
Detectives subsequently found child pornography on electronic devices belonging to 18-year-old James Happ of Dublin. He was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility for possession of child pornography. Happ was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and has since bailed out.
Additionally, as Happ is a swim instructor at The Wave in Dublin, the Dublin Police Department is conducting a separate investigation. Any inquiries regarding The Wave can be directed to the Dublin Police Department.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
Read MoreCalTrans Sustainable Communities Planning Grant
The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) won a Caltrans SB1 Sustainable Communities Planning Grant valued at $755,000 to support a study that will evaluate new transit options between the cities of Antioch and Brentwood in East Contra Costa County.
The East County Integrated Transit Study will guide the development of a plan for providing fast, frequent, high-capacity transit connections between Antioch and Brentwood that will directly integrate with existing local and regional services such as the Antioch BART station and Tri Delta Transit local bus service. The study will also look at improving connections to Capitol Corridor and ACE rail services, as well as proposed future ferry service between Antioch and Martinez. As part of its commitment to sustainable communities, CCTA will focus on new, zero-emission public transit options for potential outcomes of the study.
“Now that Highway 4 has been modernized to improve access to Eastern Contra Costa, I am pleased that we were successful in obtaining these funds to plan for a future that provides more transportation options to support economic growth and mobility for our residents,” says California Assemblymember Jim Frazier.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to harness new transit technology that can integrate with existing systems to create a smart, efficient network that easily connects people to their desired destinations,” explains CCTA Executive Director Randell Iwasaki. “This grant will enable us to expedite a much-needed study that will guide valuable transit improvements for Eastern Contra Costa County.”
“CCTA is a forward-looking organization,” states Bob Taylor, Mayor of Brentwood and Contra Costa Transportation Authority Board Chair. “I’ve always predicted a bright future for Eastern Contra Costa County and this grant win lays the foundation for the communities along Highway 4 to connect, grow, and prosper.”
Read MoreResult of Walnut Creek Police Department investigation, arrest
By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa District Attorney
On Monday July 15, 2019, Paul Fielder, a 60-year-old resident of Suisun City, California was charged with 32 counts of sexual abuse of a child under 14 years old.
The charges are a result of an investigation by the Walnut Creek Police Department, in conjunction with the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations. On July 11, 2019, Fielder was arrested by Walnut Creek Police Detectives and Federal Agents when he arrived at a location to meet a minor to engage in sex acts. The investigation revealed Fielder had been sexually abusing a minor for several years.
Investigators learned Fielder previously coached youth sports in Solano County and was employed by at least one high school as a campus supervisor.
Fielder was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility and his bail was set at $3.2 million. He remains in the custody of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. Fielder will make his next appearance for his arraignment in Contra Costa County Superior Court on July 23 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 6 before the Honorable David Goldstein.
Anyone with information can contact Walnut Creek Police Detective Amber Martin at 925-943-5870 or Senior Inspector Darryl Holcombe at 925-957-8757.
The Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is managed by the San Jose Police Department. In Contra Costa County, detectives and investigators from the Walnut Creek, Concord and Moraga Police Departments, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Contra Costa County Probation Department and Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office participate in the task force along with Special Agents from the United States Department of Homeland Security and the United States Secret Service.
Parents are encouraged to discuss online safety with their children and can visit the website www.kidsmartz.org for further information.
Case information: People v. Paul Fielder, Docket Number 01-190620-5
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The 2019 California State Fair & Food Festival officially opened its gates Friday morning, July 12 with big crowds, eagerly awaiting to get into Cal Expo in Sacramento.
“We’re so thrilled Opening Day was such a great success; it’s fun seeing so many people and families out having a good time, and of course, eating at our 100 food booths.” said Rick Pickering, Cal Expo General Manager and CEO. “We’ve worked hard to make this year’s State Fair the best yet – a fair for all Californians up and down the state. The food festival is just part of what we have in store for the next two and a half weeks.”
The California State Fair & Food Festival runs through July 28th.
For the schedule of daily events and concerts, as well as the list of food vendors, fairgoers are encouraged to visit the website at CaStateFair.org or download the Ca State Fair app where they can map out all of their adventures.
About the California State Fair
The California State Fair is an international award-winning fair, receiving top honors at the International Association of Fairs and Expositions out of more than 1,100 fairs world-wide. The California State Fair is dedicated as a place to celebrate the best the state has to offer in agriculture, technology and the diversity of its people, traditions and trends that shape the Golden State’s future. We invite you to join us for the 166th California State Fair, July 12-28, 2019.
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