Photos: Brentwood PD

By Brentwood Police Department

A little after 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning, March 18, a resident called dispatch after seeing someone looking into mailboxes. The alert resident also noticed a vehicle parked in the wrong direction near the open mailboxes. This may not normally seem suspicious, but with the amount of mail theft that has been occurring and the early morning hour, our residents have been vigilant reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhoods!

Officers responded to the neighborhood and immediately noticed an unoccupied car matching the description. Where could the driver be?

Officers drove through the surrounding neighborhood, locating more open mailboxes, and spotted a car parked in a driveway with the dome light on. The garage door was also open. What could be going on here? As the officer approached the car he noticed that it had been rummaged through. He also noticed a car that was parked inside the garage had also been rummaged through.

The alert resident called back and said the thief had come back to their car and drove off! Officers jumped in their cars and quickly located the vehicle. Officers identified the driver as 32-year-old Scott Collier of Clayton. During the investigation, officers located approximately 20 pieces of stolen mail stuffed in Collier’s pant leg, stolen gas cards and suspected methamphetamine.

Collier was given a ride to jail and booked on burglary, possession of a controlled substance and multiple theft charges.

Thank you alert resident for calling us! Brentwood for the win!

We, as a community, are stronger thanks to the partnership we have with one another!

Remember, see something, say something!

Cash, fake bomb and robbery note recovered during arrest of suspect on Monday, March, 22, 2021. Photo: Pittsburg PD

By Pittsburg Police Department

On Monday, March 22, 2021, Pittsburg Police Officers responded to a “Bank Hold Up Alarm” at Mechanics Bank (Downtown Pittsburg). Officers arrived on scene and determined an armed robbery occurred. The suspect passed a note which read that he needed, “20 grand” and that he had a bomb. The teller provided the suspect with over $7,000 in cash and then he fled on foot. A canine trail was conducted with assistance from the @contra_costa_k9 unit.

The trail led away from the bank down various city streets. The trail was concluded; however, the suspect remained outstanding. Officers reviewed video footage from businesses in the area near the K9 trail and located video of the suspect fleeing. He was eventually tracked down and found at a nearby residence.

The stolen cash along with a bomb which was determined to be fake were recovered. The Juvenile suspect admitted during an interview he watched a YouTube video on how to rob a bank. He was later transported to Juvenile Hall.

By Pittsburg Police Department

Early Sunday evening, Pittsburg Police Officers responded to a house in the 1000 block of Bending Willow Way for a reported domestic violence incident. As officers were responding to the scene, one of the children inside the home called 911 saying a man was holding a 9-year-old hostage with a knife. When officers arrived at the house, an adult victim told officers her estranged boyfriend snuck into her house earlier in the afternoon and physically assaulted her. The woman was able to get out of the house prior to police arrival. Shortly after she exited the home, two of her children (ages 13 and 3) were also able to escape. But the woman’s 9-year-old was still inside the house with the man. The victim identified him as Frederick Jamar Douglas (36-years-old), and stated he was on parole for domestic violence and made statements that he would not be going back to prison.

Officers began calling into the residence, attempting to make contact with Douglas. After approximately ten minutes, Douglas allowed the 9-year-old to exit the residence, but he refused to exit himself.

The Pittsburg Police Department has several officers that are trained in Crisis Negotiation. For hours, those highly trained officers worked to make contact with Douglas but he refused to speak with them. Efforts to reach Douglas’ family members were successful. But, despite urging from both his mother and father, Douglas would not exit the house and made statements of suicide by shooting at the police.

The Pittsburg Police Department Tactical Team was activated and Detectives authored an arrest and search warrant for Douglas and the residence. Crisis Negotiators and Crisis Intervention trained officers continued for hours to make contact and convince him to exit the home. After those efforts failed, chemical agents were deployed and Douglas exited the home bringing an end to the 7 hour standoff. He attempted to flee through the backyard but was taken into custody without further incident.

After the arrest, Douglas was transported to a hospital and, once medically cleared, was then transported to the Martinez Detention Facility where he is being held on a Ramey Warrant for felony Kidnaping, False Imprisonment, Domestic Violence and Robbery. This case will be reviewed by the District Attorney later this week.

The woman was transported to the hospital for minor injuries and later released. All three children were released to family members. The children were uninjured. Detectives will be working with the family to make sure they receive domestic violence victim support and resources to assist them through this emotional ordeal.

The department would like to thank all of the family and friends who worked with officers and bring this situation to a peaceful resolution.